Moke brings rain, wind to Hawaii’s Big Island just a week after Hurricane Lala

By Meteorologists Tyler Ory, Briana Waxman

(CNN) — Tropical Depression Moke is passing south of Hawaii after weakening Sunday evening. Moke is bringing the state its second tropical threat in less than a week after deadly Hurricane Lala tore through parts of the islands.

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Rainfall is the most dangerous threat from this storm — and it’s falling on some of the same places that flooded last weekend. This means it takes far less rainfall to trigger “life-threatening flooding and mudslides,” the National Hurricane Center warned.

A flood watch remains in effect for the Big Island through Monday afternoon.

An additional 3 to 6 inches of rain could fall across the Big Island through Monday. Eastern Maui is also forecast to receive 3 to 6 inches, while western Maui and the remainder of the islands could see up to 1 or 2 inches.

Rain began falling on the Big Island and Maui Sunday, with the heaviest additional rainfall expected on the Big Island’s windward and southeast slopes.

The islands’ steep slopes force air upward, where it cools and releases its moisture as rain.

Moke is forecast to continue weakening as it moves westward away from Hawaii over the next few days. The National Hurricane Center expects the depression to become a remnant low by Tuesday.

Although Moke’s strongest winds will remain far south of Hawaii, its circulation is amping up winds across the islands. A wind advisory remains in effect for portions of Maui County and the Big Island through midnight HST Sunday, with gusts up to 55 mph possible.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park closed on Friday until further notice in advance of the storm. The park still doesn’t have power, internet or phone lines after Lala swept by last week, and many of its employees are still recovering from the storm.

Lala’s eyewall brushed the southern coast of the Big Island while its center was roughly 30 miles offshore. Moke’s center is expected to pass roughly 300 miles south and southwest of the Big Island Sunday night during its closest approach.

The-CNN-Wire
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