Tropical Storm Lala’s relentless rain machinery is already piling up staggering totals on the Big Island. An observation site at Kawainui Stream has officially logged more than 8 inches of rain over the past 24 hours, giving an early taste of the severe moisture surging into the state.
Hawaii Department of Transportation crews are already responding to reports of fallen trees and scattered roadway debris on the Big Island as Tropical Storm Lala’s wind field strengthens over the island.
Anyone forced to drive during the early morning hours should exercise extreme caution, as pitch-black conditions make it exceptionally difficult to spot downed branches, utility hazards, or sudden runoff across the pavement.
Tropical Storm or Hurricane Lala will make its final approach to the southern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii today.
Maximum impacts are likely this afternoon Hawaii time, which is this evening Eastern time.
The biggest threat is from rainfall. Tall mountains enhance tropical rainfall and the track of Lala is going to put the dense moisture feed rotating around the storm square into the huge mountains on Hawaii Island that reach almost 14,000 feet.
2 feet or more of rain is predicted on the mountain slopes, which all has to run downhill, of course. Flash flooding and mudslides are the threat.
It's going to be a close call how much of the Big Island gets the worst of the storm. Lala's center seems to be leaning south so the south slopes seem especially threatened.
If Lala makes it to hurricane strength as forecast, and it crosses the southern tip of Hawaii Island, it will be the first hurricane in the modern record to make landfall on the biggest island in the State of Hawaii.
This east side or windward side of the Big Island is accustomed to rainfall and occasionally extreme rainfall. In 2018, Hurricane Lane, which was about 150 miles away, caused an incredible 58 inches of rain to fall against those same slopes.
That was the second heaviest rain ever measured in the United States from one storm, just behind Hurricane Harvey that flooded metro Houston in 2017.
Wind is going to be an issue at the coast and lower elevations, but mostly in terms of power outages and downed trees. High on the mountains in and through the passes, however, 100+ mph wind gusts are possible.
So the higher the elevation, the bigger the wind threat.
The Hawaiian Islands are not prone to surge flooding from storms arriving from the east. But the waves will be massive and will push water over low-lying coastal sections. High tide at Hilo on the northeast side of the Big Island occurs at about 5 PM this afternoon. Some coastal flooding is likely around that time.
If Lala makes it to hurricane strength as forecast, and it crosses the southern tip of Hawaii Island, it will be the first hurricane in the modern record to make landfall on the biggest island in the State of Hawaii.
That record goes back to 1949. Although it turns out that there was a hurricane that tracked over the northern part of Hawaii Island and into Maui in 1871.
We learned about that relatively recently when Hawaiian-language newspapers of the era were translated. Tropical storm conditions are likely to spread over Maui and Molokai tonight and into tomorrow, reaching Oahu and Kauai including the Honolulu metropolitan area later on Sunday.
The eastern slopes of the mountains on all of the Hawaiian Islands will be subject to very heavy rainfall. Amounts in the 8- to 12-inch range on Maui and 4 to 6 inches on Oahu and Kauai are forecast.
Everybody in Hawaii should pay close attention to local officials and be sure they're in a safe place to ride out the storm.
{{#rendered}}Statewide operations are grinding to a halt across Hawaii as agencies shutter public facilities to prepare for Tropical Storm Lala's impacts.
The Department of Education has canceled all weekend extracurricular activities and athletics, closing public school campuses across Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, and Kauaʻi through Sunday.
Executive Office on Early Learning Pre-K classrooms and public charter schools are mirroring those closures, while decisions regarding Monday classes will be made after post-storm assessments.
Additionally, the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System has closed major branches across Hawaiʻi Island—including Hilo, Kailua-Kona, and Thelma Parker Memorial—along with canceling all weekend public programs.Higher education and cultural sites are also locking down across the region.
University of Hawaiʻi campuses at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College have temporarily closed all offices, off-campus locations, and facilities like the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center, with Maunakea Visitors Center restricting access strictly to essential personnel.
UH Hilo residence halls remain open with staff on site for students moving in early, while athletic events like UH Mānoa soccer games have been rescheduled.
Public officials continue to urge everyone to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel until all facilities can be safely reopened.
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is taking active steps to reduce severe flood risks across the islands ahead of Tropical Storm Lala.
Maintenance teams have partnered with state and local crews to clear trees, overgrown brush, and debris from critical drainage corridors like Mānoa Valley and Waiawa to prevent hazardous water backup.
Additionally, while the state currently reports no immediate dam safety concerns, DLNR has alerted regulated dam owners statewide to review their emergency action plans, test spillway operations, and prepare emergency response contractors.
To help residents track rising hazards in real time, state officials are encouraging the public to utilize the DLNR Dam Evacuation Zone Map Viewer and monitor live stream conditions through the USGS Water Data network.
Officials strongly urge property owners to avoid unauthorized stream alterations, as illegal heavy machinery work can dangerously divert floodwaters onto neighboring lands during intense downpours.
FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross is breaking down the latest numbers from the 8 a.m. advisory with exclusive, expert analysis.
Looking closely at the updated track and satellite trends, Norcross points out that while Lala’s center is projected to track just south of the Big Island, the storm’s heavy rain canopy and broad wind field extend well beyond the core.
{{#rendered}}FOX Weather is providing around-the-clock team coverage to bring you the latest developments on Tropical Storm Lala from every angle.
On the frontline of the storm, Storm Specialist Mike Seidel is live in Wainaku on the Big Island tracking rising wind gusts and torrential rain as the system's core approaches under a Hurricane Warning.
Meanwhile, Correspondent Katie Byrne is live on the ground in Honolulu, reporting on shelter operations, local preparations, and how residents across Oahu are bracing for weekend impacts.
And Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross is providing exclusive analysis and track projections, breaking down what these hazardous conditions mean for each island in real time.
Count on FOX Weather all night long for uninterrupted ground truth, expert analysis, and live updates as Lala pushes through the island chain.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) is racing the clock to reinforce state infrastructure before Tropical Storm Lala’s torrential rain arrives.
HDOT maintenance crews are aggressively clearing critical drainage channels, culverts, and stream beds—including joint efforts in vulnerable valleys like Mānoa—to prevent runoff blockages that trigger destructive flash flooding.
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Heavy highway response equipment and staging vehicles are being prepositioned near flood-prone corridors and steep slopes across the islands.
State highway officials are also urging drivers to stay off the roads as heavy rain and mountain debris threaten to force immediate highway closures.
Emergency evacuation shelters are opening across the Hawaiian Islands as county officials and the American Red Cross mobilize to protect residents from Tropical Storm Lala.
Dozens of refuge sites—including high schools, community centers, and local gyms—have opened across the Big Island, Maui County, and Oahu.
Officials stress that these locations are designated for safety, meaning residents taking refuge should bring their own essential emergency supplies, including food, water, bedding, flashlight batteries, and critical medications.
Most shelters are pet-friendly provided pets are kept in secure crates, and county authorities urge anyone living in low-lying, flood-prone, or coastal areas to move inland and seek safe shelter before nightfall.
{{#rendered}}Hawaii Governor Josh Green is issuing a strong warning to residents and visitors across the state, emphasizing that Tropical Storm Lala poses a genuine, life-threatening danger.
Calling it "a serious storm" in a briefing, Green pointed out that Hawaii hasn't experienced a landfall from a tropical system of this scale in decades, meaning many island residents haven't lived through impacts like these.
The governor signed an emergency proclamation to deploy state resources and activate the National Guard, while urging everyone across the island chain to complete home preparations, stock up on essential supplies, and stay completely off the roads once severe weather sets in.
As Tropical Storm Lala approaches, the National Hurricane Center is marking a major technological milestone by issuing its first-ever peak storm surge forecast for the Hawaiian Islands.
Developed over years of research with UCAR/NHC scientist Dr. Benjamin Trabing and a dedicated team of meteorologists, the new probabilistic tool gives forecasters and the public localized visual guidance on rising coastal waters.
The historic debut provides critical context as Lala threatens to drive 1 to 3 feet of storm surge alongside dangerous waves onto exposed shorelines.
Tropical Storm Lala’s outer bands are lashing the Big Island, unleashing driving downpours and powerful wind gusts across windward slopes.
Squalls are sweeping inland from Hilo to South Point, bringing brief visibility drops and wind gusts over 50 mph.
Winds and rain will steadily intensify through the afternoon as Lala’s core tracks closer, pushing tropical-storm-force winds higher up the mountain ridgelines and driving localized flash flooding.
Residents should remain indoors and off the roads as outer rainbands continue to stack up across the island.
{{#rendered}}The FOX Forecast Center is warning of catastrophic, multi-hazard impacts as Tropical Storm Lala barrels toward Hawaii.
Up to 30 inches of torrential rain could deluge higher terrain and favored windward slopes, triggering widespread, life-threatening flash flooding and severe mudslides.
Gusty winds will intensify dramatically across the island chain, reaching 75 mph along exposed coastal areas and howling near 100 mph over elevated peaks.
Offshore, the ocean is turning extremely violent, with peak wave heights surging up to 25 feet that will batter shorelines with dangerous surf and coastal destruction.
The elevated terrain on the Big Island is officially taking a beating from Tropical Storm Lala's outer bands.
A weather station at Pu'u Mali, situated on the high northern slope of Mauna Kea, recently clocked a 61 mph wind gust as the storm continues to push closer.
These early mountain-level gusts offer a stark warning of what is driving toward the rest of the island chain today.
Higher elevations and exposed ridges will continue to see the fiercest conditions, driving downpours and whipping winds inland as Lala's core advances.
The 8 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center places Tropical Storm Lala roughly 140 miles southeast of South Point, Hawaii, packing 65 mph sustained winds and moving west-northwest at 13 mph.
Tropical-storm-force gusts are already lashing the Big Island as the system’s outer bands press onshore, bringing a central pressure down to 991 mb.
Torrential rain and a severe flood threat will continue to expand westward across the entire Hawaiian island chain throughout the weekend. With the storm sitting just 350 miles southeast of Honolulu, conditions are set to rapidly deteriorate across the central islands next.
{{#rendered}}The National Hurricane Center has officially released its 8 a.m. ET advisory on Tropical Storm Lala, and the FOX Weather team is digging into the data right now.
We are analyzing the fresh coordinates, updated wind speeds, and pressure readings to see if Lala’s inner core has organized further as it presses toward the Hawaiian Islands.
Stand by—we will break down all the critical numbers, hazard maps, and top takeaways right here in just a few moments.
The Hurricane Hunters have been forced to evacuate their staging base in Hawaii to safeguard their aircraft as Tropical Storm Lala closes in on the islands.
Crews completed their final direct recon mission into Lala’s core early this morning before pulling out of the storm's path, meaning forecasters will no longer have access to real-time, in-flight data drops directly from inside the system.
NO WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE FLIGHTS ARE TASKED IN THIS TCPOD DUE TO THE NEED TO RELOCATE NOAA AND USAF WEATHER RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT FROM THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS DUE TO THE THREAT FROM TROPICAL STORM LALA.
Moving forward, the National Hurricane Center will rely entirely on satellite imagery and coastal radar tracking to monitor Lala’s strength and trajectory.
While the loss of recon flights leaves forecasters with one less tool in the chest, tracking efforts remain fully active as the storm's dangerous outer bands begin to hammer the state.
All eyes are turned to the National Hurricane Center as forecasters prepare to drop the 8 a.m. ET intermediate advisory on Tropical Storm Lala.
This update will give us the latest snapshot of Lala's exact position, current maximum sustained winds, and central pressure as it churns closer to the Hawaiian Islands.
Crucially, the 8 a.m. bulletin will reveal if Lala’s inner core is better organizing, signaling whether the storm is nearing hurricane strength.
Stay right here with FOX Weather—we will break down the numbers and updated hazard warnings the second the advisory hits the wire.
{{#rendered}}Tropical Storm Lala is steadily closing in on the Hawaiian Islands, pushing tropical-storm-force winds and torrential outer bands toward the Big Island.
FOX Weather meteorologists warn that the core of the storm will scrape near South Point before sweeping just south of the remaining island chain through Sunday.
Dangerous ocean swells are already crashing onto windward beaches, and inland areas are preparing for localized rainfall totals that could top 20 inches in higher terrain.
Residents across all islands should finalize emergency supplies and monitor local alerts as conditions worsen throughout the day.
The National Hurricane Center has posted a Hurricane Warning for Hawaii County (the Big Island) as Tropical Storm Lala barrels closer, signaling that destructive hurricane conditions are expected within the area.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Warnings stretch across the rest of the state, covering Oahu, Kauai County, and Maui County—including Maui, Lanai, Molokai, and Kahoolawe.
These warnings mean damaging winds and hazard-level conditions are imminent, making outside preparations dangerous or impossible once the storm hits.
Residents across every island should complete life and property preparations immediately before conditions rapidly decline over the next 24 hours.
Winds are officially ramping up across the Big Island as the outer circulation of Tropical Storm Lala begins to squeeze against Hawaii's steep terrain.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 220 miles, with higher elevations and exposed ridgelines taking the brunt of the initial surge.
Conditions will rapidly deteriorate through the morning hours as Lala's core nears, driving damaging gusts and horizontal rain inland.
{{#rendered}}Tropical Storm Lala is set to unleash severe weather across the Hawaiian Islands this weekend, with damaging hurricane-force winds targeting the Big Island on Saturday.
Terrain will play a massive role, as wind gusts are expected to peak across higher elevations while tropical-storm-force winds spread over smaller islands through Sunday.
Emergency officials urge all residents to rush preparations to completion before conditions rapidly deteriorate.
FOX Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross breaks down the latest as Lala closes in on the islands.
Beyond the winds, torrential rain will spread westward across the island chain, creating life-threatening flash flood hazards and mudslides in steep areas.
Heavy ocean swells are already surging along eastern shores and will expand to southern coasts, bringing severe beach erosion and localized coastal flooding as Lala pushes through.
FOX Weather Storm Specialist Mike Seidel is on the ground in Hawaii bringing you live, frontline coverage as communities rush to complete final emergency preparations.
With Tropical Storm Lala bearing down, residents are boarding up storefronts, clearing drainage paths, and securing boats before conditions rapidly deteriorate.
Mike will be tracking the rising surf and pounding wind gusts firsthand as the storm’s outer bands begin to make landfall.
The official forecast track from the National Hurricane Center keeps Tropical Storm Lala on a steady west-northwestward path, taking the system just south of the main Hawaiian islands later tonight.
Forecasters expect steady strengthening over favorable ocean waters, pushing Lala to reach hurricane intensity with maximum sustained winds topping 75 mph later today.
While the storm’s center may stay offshore, the island chain will still sit squarely on the dangerous northern fringe of the system.
That setup will unleash torrential rain, destructive gusty winds, and life-threatening surf conditions across the region through Sunday.
{{#rendered}}The National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. ET advisory shows Tropical Storm Lala maintaining 65 mph winds as it tracks west-northwest toward Hawaii.
Strengthening remains likely before the storm passes dangerously close to the Big Island, bringing life-threatening flash flooding, power outages, and torrential downpours across the island chain through the weekend.
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