Hurricane Lala Bears Down on Hawaii's Big Island in Rare Landfall Threat

Hurricane Lala strengthened to a Category 1 storm Saturday and began pounding Hawaii's Big Island, putting the island chain on track for its first hurricane landfall in 34 years. Forecasters said the center could pass over or near the island's southern tip Saturday afternoon or evening, bringing hurricane-force winds and torrential rain to volcanic slopes already saturated by heavy storms earlier this year.

The upgrade came at 9 a.m. local time, when the National Hurricane Center pegged Lala's maximum sustained winds at 75 mph. By 11 a.m., the center sat about 65 miles south-southeast of South Point, Hawaii, moving northwest at 8 mph, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 35 miles from the core and tropical storm force winds reaching out 175 miles.

A Historic Threat for the Big Island

Should Lala make landfall as a hurricane, it would mark the first known hurricane landfall on the Big Island in the modern record -- and the first hurricane to hit any part of Hawaii since Hurricane Iniki devastated Kauai in 1992.

The storm's eyewall was forecast to move over or near the island's southern end, with the worst gusts expected at higher terrain thousands of feet above sea level. Forecasters noted the center could wobble as it interacts with the island's high peaks, making the exact track uncertain even as landfall approached.

Alerts Across the Island Chain

Hawaii County remained under a hurricane alert, with tropical storm alerts in effect for Maui County, Oahu, and Kauai County, including the islands of Lanai, Molokai, Kahoolawe, Niihau, and Kauai. Tropical storm conditions were already spreading across the Big Island on Saturday morning, and gusts near 70 mph were recorded on the northern slope of Mauna Kea.

Rainfall totals of 10 to 20 inches were expected across the Big Island, with isolated amounts up to 25 inches, and 8 to 12 inches across eastern Maui. The rest of the chain was forecast to see 4 to 6 inches. Officials said the downpours could trigger life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides in steep terrain, with surf building as high as 20 feet along exposed shores and storm surge of 1 to 3 feet possible at high tide.

Emergency managers said residents on the Big Island and in Maui County should have completed preparations and shelter in place with several days of supplies, expecting power outages to stretch through the weekend.

Islands Batten Down

Governor Josh Green signed an emergency proclamation Thursday, freeing up state resources ahead of the storm. Hawaii County opened shelters across the island, and all state parks on the Big Island closed early Saturday.

Hilo International Airport was in the process of closing, and Kona International Airport was set to close at 2 p.m., with carriers canceling remaining flights for the day. Commercial ports on the Big Island and in Maui County were closed, and crews reported power outages affecting roughly 8,500 customers from North Kohala to the Puna district. Sections of Highway 11 and Highway 250 were shut down by fallen trees and flooding.

What Comes Next

Lala was expected to weaken after grinding across the Big Island's terrain, but forecasters said restrengthening was possible early next week once the storm pulls clear of the islands. The forecast track bends west on Sunday, keeping the core south of the main island chain, with the system possibly lingering over the central and western Pacific for more than a week -- potentially as a typhoon.

Damaging winds and heavy rain were expected across the chain into Sunday, with the greatest flooding risk on the Big Island and eastern Maui. Ground soaked by Kona low flooding earlier this year leaves little room for another 20-plus inches of rain, and officials urged residents to shelter in place and stay off flooded roads until the storm passes.

Forecasters also noted that Lala's track carries a margin of error of 50 to 60 miles, and a shift of even a few dozen miles could drastically change what each island experiences before the storm finally pulls away.