Tropical Storm Lala is moving west of Hawaii after battering the islands with hurricane-force winds, extreme rainfall and severe flash flooding over the weekend.
The cyclone has weakened since passing close to the island chain as a Category 1 hurricane. By 15:00 UTC on Monday, August 17, Lala was centered near 20.4°N, 163.4°W and moving west, with maximum sustained winds of 50 kt, or about 58 mph (93 km/h).
LAMENTABLE 🌀
— Geól. Sergio Almazán (@chematierra) August 17, 2026
El Huracán Lala golpea con fuerza
Hawái EEUU 🇺🇸
Tras el paso del potente #hurricane Hawái enfrenta graves daños, con múltiples puentes dañados, secciones de carreteras cortadas y decenas de árboles colapsados.
Vía @surajit_ghosh2 pic.twitter.com/luULHBYAK2
Tropical storm and flood warnings across the Hawaiian Islands have now been cancelled as Lala’s rainbands move farther away. The immediate weather threat is therefore easing, but recovery from the storm is only beginning.
Meteo.Events has followed Lala throughout its approach and passage across the central Pacific. The system first placed Hawaii under a hurricane watch while still a tropical storm, before approaching the islands with an escalating extreme-rainfall threat. Lala later strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane, and Meteo.Events reported on its torrential rain, flooding and gusts exceeding 100 mph as the storm passed close to the Big Island.
Flooding and Power Outages Leave Widespread Damage
Lala produced destructive rainfall as its moisture-rich circulation interacted with Hawaii’s mountainous terrain.
More than 100 homes were reported damaged, while flooding affected roads, bridges and other infrastructure. On Hawaii Island, six bridges were destroyed in Kaʻū and severe flooding temporarily isolated the community of Pāhala.
The electrical grid was also hit particularly hard. Power outages peaked well above 200,000 customers during the storm, and more than 100,000 customers remained without electricity on Monday as crews worked around fallen trees, flooded roads and damaged transmission infrastructure.
Strong winds were locally intensified by Hawaii’s terrain. Valleys and mountain slopes can channel and accelerate tropical-cyclone winds, creating damaging gusts even some distance from the storm’s center.
Why Did Lala Produce Such Extreme Rainfall?
Lala’s rainfall was amplified by one of Hawaii’s defining geographical features: its enormous volcanic mountains.
The cyclone transported exceptionally humid tropical air across the islands. When this moisture encountered steep terrain, it was forced rapidly upward.
Raging floodwaters slam into a bridge in Hilo, Hawaii, as relentless rain from Hurricane Lala sends waterways surging across the Big Island. 🌧️🌊 pic.twitter.com/AJ4GTnBnoG
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) August 16, 2026
As the air rose, it cooled and condensed, dramatically enhancing rainfall through orographic lift. This allowed some windward and mountainous locations to receive far more rain than surrounding areas.
The combination of tropical moisture, slow-moving rainbands and terrain enhancement caused streams to rise rapidly and triggered severe flash flooding.
Could Lala Become a Hurricane Again?
Although Hawaii is now escaping Lala’s strongest weather, the cyclone itself remains active over the central North Pacific.
Lala is moving across warm ocean water and into an environment that could become somewhat more favorable for strengthening.
Central Pacific hurricane guidance indicates that some restrengthening is possible during the next couple of days, potentially allowing Lala to regain hurricane intensity over open water.
For Hawaii, however, the trend is increasingly favorable. The cyclone’s westward movement is carrying its core circulation and deepest tropical moisture away from the islands.
The full, historic passage of Hurricane Lala through Hawaii.
— Backpirch Weather (@BackpirchCrew) August 17, 2026
When her eyewall clipped the Big Island, she became the first Hurricane impact there in 155 YEARS, dropping a max rain total of 3.6 FEET and producing gusts up to 154 MPH at the summit of Mauna Kea (where cyclonic SNOW… pic.twitter.com/BslfmvewN1
The focus is now shifting from warnings to recovery, particularly restoring electricity, reopening damaged roads and assessing flood impacts.
Lala’s evolution also demonstrates how a cyclone does not need to make a direct landfall to cause widespread damage in Hawaii. The combination of tropical moisture and extreme terrain can transform a relatively compact hurricane into a major rainfall and flooding event across the islands.
