Hurricane Lala lashes Hawaii’s Big Island with strong winds and heavy rain

By Dalia Faheid and Meteorologists Dakota Smith, Tyler Ory, CNN

(CNN) — Lala strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday and is already lashing parts of Hawaii with tropical-storm-force winds and heavy rain as the storm approaches a potentially historic landfall.

Lala will make its closest approach to Hawaii’s Big Island Saturday afternoon and may make landfall. If it does so as a hurricane, it would be the first hurricane to directly strike the state in more than 30 years.

The storm is packing winds of 75 mph swirling 50 miles south of Ka Lae as of Saturday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. A tropical storm-force gust of 50 mph was reported around 10 a.m. local time near Kealakomo.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the Big Island, where hurricane conditions — winds of at least 74 mph — are expected to begin Saturday afternoon. The most likely areas to experience hurricane-force winds are on southern parts of the Big Island, which will be most exposed to Lala’s inner core.

Lala’s most serious threat is its torrential rain, which could spur flash flooding across the Hawaiian Islands as the hurricane’s outer rain bands start soaking the Big Island. The National Hurricane Center has warned of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain.

The storm will dump more than a foot of rain on much of the Big Island, with isolated amounts over 2 feet possible. Over 12 inches of rain has already fallen in Keanakolu in the past 24 hours. A foot of rain in Hilo would be more than a month’s worth of rain for the city.

Up to a foot of rain is also expected in parts of Maui, where tropical storm warnings are in effect. Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai and Kahoolawe are also under a tropical storm warning.

Waves could reach 8 to 12 feet, particularly on east-facing shores where a high surf advisory is in effect.

Lala’s current track takes the center of the storm just south of the Big Island, but its strongest winds are north of the eye – putting them right over land. These winds can down trees and power lines, a risk exacerbated by rain-soaked soil that makes trees easier to topple.

As the storm passes by Hawaii, its circulation closer to the ground may wobble and deform as it runs into the mountainous terrain of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. This could nudge the storm center onto land or keep it just offshore.

Landfalls — when the center of the eye moves over land — on the Hawaiian islands have happened only a handful of times in the modern record. The last tropical system to make landfall was Tropical Storm Olivia in 2018, which came ashore on Maui, the island’s first landfall since recordkeeping began in the 1950s.

The last landfalling hurricane was in 1992 when Category 4 Iniki hit Kauai, becoming the strongest storm to directly strike the state on record. Lala would be the first recorded hurricane landfall on the Big Island.

Lala could also push 1 to 3 feet of storm surge water onto normally dry ground along parts of the Big Island’s coast. Large, dangerous waves have reached east-facing shores and will build through the weekend, bringing life-threatening surf, rip currents, coastal flooding and significant beach erosion.

Hawaii residents brace for hurricane impacts

Across Hawaii, residents evacuated to designated shelters and scoured packed grocery stores as officials across several counties announced closures and prepared for potential landfall.

In Hilo, grocery stores and gas stations have been busy as people stock up on essentials, CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now reported. Hawaii County is also offering sandbags for residents around the island.

“You got to take all the necessary precautions, right? So it’s batteries. It’s get your emergency kit, inform your neighbors, the kupuna (elders),” said Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda. “Make sure that everybody’s safe because our island’s big and we have small communities and we’re very connected.”

Hawaii resident Maxine Totty-Hefley said living through the first hurricane in decades on the island is “really surreal” and described a mad dash at the grocery store Friday.

“Seeing people, like, rush through and getting their food and stock up on stuff. Like, lanterns were out, toilet paper was almost out,” she told CNN affiliate KITV.

Totty-Hefley plans to evacuate to higher ground with her pets, she said.

“We are going to pack up all the dogs and the dog food and everything, take it to my mom’s friend’s house,” she told KITV.

Many roads in Hawaii County are closed due to downed trees and utility lines and landslides, according to the County of Hawaii Mayor’s Office.

“While road crews are working hard to clear debris as conditions allow, we need all residents and visitors to heed all warnings, move into safe shelter, and stay off the roadways,” Alameda said.

County officials and the National Guard have also been discussing placing resources ahead of time in areas hard-hit by storms earlier this year, according to Hawaii News Now.

And in Oahu, officials opened eight hurricane refuge areas as public facilities like the Honolulu Zoo shuttered.

Officials are urging residents to be cautious as the hurricane approaches.

“Our County teams and emergency response partners are taking steps now to be ready, but we also need our community to do its part by securing property, checking emergency supplies, staying informed, and avoiding unnecessary travel and outdoor activities as conditions deteriorate,” Kauai Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami said.

In Maui, temporary evacuation points were opened as county facilities closed, events were canceled and first responders prepared for impacts.

The storm has caused widespread power outages across the state. More than 44,000 customers were without power Saturday afternoon as the hurricane approached the islands, according to poweroutage.us.

Tropical storms approaching Hawaii typically hit cooler ocean temperatures before reaching the islands, but Lala will remain over warmer waters due to an ongoing marine heatwave that extends to California and a developing Super El Niño.

El Niño is helping fuel increased storm potential in the central Pacific this year with warmer ocean temperatures and weaker winds in the upper atmosphere, which can normally break up storms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast an above-average central Pacific season, with five to 13 cyclones expected.

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CNN’s Andrew Freedman, Nic F. Anderson and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.