Hurricane Lala strengthens to Category 1, lashes Hawaii with heavy rain and winds

Hurricane Lala strengthened to a Category 1 storm before weakening to a tropical storm as it bypassed Hawaii's Big Island without making landfall on August 16, 2026. Despite avoiding a direct hit, the storm lashed the islands with up to 3 feet of rain and powerful winds, leaving over 180,000 customers without power, damaging at least 100 homes, and forcing three hospitals onto generator power. At least one storm-related fatality was reported, and search-and-rescue teams were deployed after flash floods swept homes off their foundations.

Hurricane Lala track intensity

• ▪Forecasters expect Tropical Storm Lala to regain hurricane strength midweek once it moves well west of the Hawaiian island chain.
• ▪Hurricane Lala was downgraded to a tropical storm early on August 16, 2026, after its eyewall passed near the southern tip of Hawaii's Big Island without making landfall.
• ▪As of 2:00 p.m. HST on August 16, 2026, Tropical Storm Lala was moving west toward southwest Kauai County at approximately 20 mph (31 kph) with maximum sustained winds near 65 mph.
• ▪Hurricane Lala intensified from a tropical storm into a Category 1 hurricane on August 15, 2026, with maximum sustained winds reaching 75 mph (120 kph).

Rainfall flooding mudslide threats

• ▪The National Hurricane Center warned that wind speeds atop mountains and on windward and leeward slopes can be up to 30% stronger than near-surface winds.
• ▪Flash floods on the Big Island apparently swept several occupied homes off their foundations in the coastal communities of Na'alehu and Wai'ohinu, prompting a search-and-rescue mission.
• ▪Forecasters predicted total rainfall of nearly 3 feet (1 meter) on the higher windward slopes of Hawaii's Big Island, with up to 35 inches (89 centimeters) near the Mauna Kea volcano.
• ▪At least one person died in a car accident in the South Point area of Hawaii's Big Island, which Governor Josh Green noted may have been storm-related.

Power outages infrastructure damage

• ▪The Honolulu Fire Department responded to dozens of incidents by early Sunday, including 58 reports of downed trees, 39 blown roofs, and 12 downed power lines.
• ▪At least 100 homes were reported damaged or lost across Hawaii, and at least three hospitals were forced to operate on generator power due to storm-related outages.
• ▪More than 180,000 utility customers across Hawaii remained without power on the afternoon of August 16, 2026, down from a peak of over 220,000 outages.
• ▪Hawaiian Electric reported that repair efforts were severely hampered by hurricane-force winds, toppled trees, and flooded roadways, including damage to major transmission lines along the Hamakua Coast.

Historical hurricane landfall rarity

• ▪The last hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the state of Hawaii was the Category 4 Hurricane Iniki, which struck Kauai in 1992, causing $3 billion in damage and six deaths.
• ▪Hawaii's Big Island has not experienced a direct hurricane landfall in 155 years, with the last direct hit occurring in 1871 from a Category 3 storm.
• ▪The increased hurricane activity in the central Pacific during 2026 is fueled by warmer ocean temperatures from an ongoing marine heatwave and a developing Super El Niño.

Emergency warnings evacuations

• ▪Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau as the storm moved westward.
• ▪Approximately 117 people were housed in emergency shelters as of Sunday morning, August 16, 2026, while officials urged residents to stay off roads and shelter in place.
• ▪State Representative Jeanné Kapela expressed specific concern for rural residents living off the grid in unpermitted, improvised housing on the southern end of the Big Island.

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