Tropical Storm Lala is lashing Hawaii's Big Island with heavy rain and dangerous winds, forcing a state of emergency and raising the specter of the first hurricane landfall there in more than 150 years.
By early Saturday morning, Lala sat roughly 110 miles southeast of South Point, the southernmost tip of the Big Island, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and moving west-northwest at 13 mph. The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for the Big Island, a step forecasters called rare for an island chain that has largely been spared direct landfalls in modern memory. Tropical storm warnings covered Maui County, Oahu, and Kauai County, stretching the threat across the entire state.
Gov. Josh Green declared a state of emergency and urged residents to prepare. "This is an enormous storm," Green said. The declaration frees state resources for communities expected to bear the worst of Lala's impact, particularly on the Big Island, where steep terrain and rural isolation magnify every inch of rainfall.
In a separate statement, Green warned residents more directly:
"Tropical Storm Lala poses a serious threat to our state, particularly Hawaiʻi Island, and we are taking action now to ensure resources are available where they are needed. I urge everyone to secure their homes, gather essential supplies, review their family emergency plans, and follow updates from trusted official sources. Please take this storm seriously and look out for one another."
Vanessa Almanza, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Honolulu, told the Associated Press that the latest forecast track had Lala striking "very close to the southern tip of the Big Island." Whether or not the eye crosses land, she said, the damage radius extends far beyond the center.
"It doesn't take landfall to create destruction."
That warning carries weight. Lala's tropical storm-force winds extend outward as much as 220 miles, wide enough to sweep every major island in the chain. The NHC cautioned that wind speeds atop mountains and along windward and leeward slopes "are often up to 30 percent stronger than the near-surface winds" listed in its advisory, meaning gusts in elevated areas could far exceed the headline numbers.
Rainfall projections paint a grim picture. Higher elevations on the Big Island could see up to 25 inches. Maui and the Big Island's lower elevations face 8 to 12 inches. The rest of the island chain is forecast for 4 to 6 inches. The NHC warned of "life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," along with storm surge and ocean swells "likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions." Storm surge of one to three feet is expected, and waves could exceed 30 feet.
Oahu and Kauai should brace for tropical storm-force winds by Sunday morning. The active Pacific hurricane season, fueled by El Niño conditions, has already kept Hawaii on edge for weeks.
If Lala makes landfall on the Big Island as a hurricane, it would be the first to do so since 1871, when a Category 3 storm struck the island's northeast corner. Steven Businger, a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist who researched that storm through newspaper accounts, offered a blunt reminder of what hurricanes do to Hawaii when they arrive.
Businger pointed to Hurricane Iniki, which made a Category 4 landfall on Kauai in 1992, also an El Niño year:
"It did $3 billion worth of damage. It destroyed thousands of homes, and it did kill six people."
He added a warning that applies to every forecast cone: "We just can never know if a storm is going to turn." The unpredictability of tropical systems in the central Pacific, where steering currents can shift rapidly, makes preparation the only reliable option. Lala's precursor system had been tracked for days before it organized into a named storm, giving officials a head start, but not certainty.
The Big Island's southern end is remote, rural, and agricultural. Coffee farms, cattle ranches, and a growing population drawn by relative affordability define the landscape. Some residents live off the grid in unpermitted structures, housing that may not withstand hurricane-force winds.
State Rep. Jeanné Kapela, who represents part of the Big Island, flew from Honolulu on Friday to be closer to her constituents. She texted the AP as her flight took off:
"If you feel now that your house doesn't have a great roof or might not be able to withstand hurricane force winds, then first things first you go to a family or friend's house and you kind of hunker down there."
Kapela added: "We're hopeful the storm moves through quickly, but we're preparing for whatever comes." She noted that many communities still carry scars from devastating flooding in March. "We know how quickly heavy rain and flooding can impact our rural communities," she said. Kapela also urged residents to "take this storm seriously, remain vigilant, and get somewhere safe before conditions deteriorate."
Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, said growers still recovering from those spring floods, including on Oahu's North Shore, worried about suffering more damage from Lala. For farmers already stretched thin, a second hit in the same year could be devastating.
Bruce Corker, a coffee farmer in Holualoa on the Big Island's west side, described Friday's conditions as "sunny and beautiful", a calm that made the forecast feel surreal. But the prospect of "streams overflowing and high winds" left him uneasy. Shelters were scheduled to open. Events across the island were canceled. The state's emergency declaration put the full weight of government resources behind the preparations.
In Lahaina, on Maui, Archie Kalepa, well known locally for his surfing, paddling, and ocean skills, said the community's relationship with weather forecasts changed permanently after the 2023 wildfire that destroyed the historic town. That fire ignited during extreme winds driven by a hurricane passing far to the south.
"Since the fire, everybody is way more aware of weather in general and our environment and things that are happening."
Almanza, the NWS meteorologist, noted that strong winds from Lala could raise wildfire risk as well, adding another layer of danger to an already long list. Hawaii has endured repeated storm threats this season, and the cumulative toll on residents' nerves and resources is real.
At the Big Island's only Costco on Friday, shoppers moved through what appeared to be a normal day. By Saturday morning, tropical storm-force winds and rain were already hitting the island. The gap between the calm and the chaos measured in hours.
Hawaii's isolation, thousands of miles from the mainland, means there is no driving to higher ground in a neighboring state. When a storm bears down, the people on the islands ride it out or shelter in place. That reality makes preparation not optional but existential, and it makes government readiness a matter of life and death rather than bureaucratic routine.
Residents who have lived through Iniki, the Lahaina fire, and this year's spring floods know better than anyone: in Hawaii, the weather doesn't send a second warning.
