Lala is again a tropical storm, sending drenching rain and winds across Hawaii
Hurricane Lala has weakened to a tropical storm but continues to cause severe flooding, power outages, and infrastructure damage across Hawaii. Emergency services are conducting search-and-rescue operations as the storm moves westward.
Why it matters
The storm highlights the vulnerability of island infrastructure to extreme weather events and the ongoing challenges of disaster recovery.
Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm Sunday after skirting Hawaii without making landfall, but it wasn't done punishing the Big Island with hurricane-force gusts. Total rainfall of nearly three feet (one meter) was expected on the higher windward slopes, turning rivers into raging torrents and threatening mudslides.
Tropical storm conditions were spreading westward Sunday from Maui to Oahu and then Kauai, and the National Hurricane Center warned that wind speeds atop mountains and on the windward and leeward slopes are often up to 30% stronger than the near-surface winds used to categorize storms.
Powerful waves pounded the Big Island's coast as Lala slowly passed by. Howling winds whipped palm trees and waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff from relentless rain that blew nearly sideways.
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