Tropical Storm Lala weakened Sunday, a day after roaring past Hawaii’s Big Island as a Category 1 hurricane, its eyewall brushing the island’s south side. That close pass swept homes off their foundations, cut power to hundreds of thousands of customers and triggered overnight water rescues, all without the storm’s center ever crossing onto land.
Lala reached maximum sustained winds of 75 mph late Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. At 5 p.m. that day its center was still about 30 miles southwest of South Point, and officials said the storm “avoided a direct hit to Hawaii Island by about 30 miles.” By Sunday, Aug. 16, the storm had weakened back to tropical storm strength and was pulling away from the islands.
Key facts
- Storm status: Weakened to tropical storm Sunday, Aug. 16, a day after passing as a Category 1 hurricane
- Peak winds: 75 mph late Saturday, Aug. 15; center came about 30 miles southwest of South Point at closest approach
- Homes: Gov. Josh Green said more than 100 homes were destroyed or damaged on the southern Big Island; two were swept away in Nāʻālehu
- Rainfall: 28 to 33-plus inches on the Big Island; more than 33 inches at Laupahoehoe
- Power: More than 250,900 customers without power statewide as of 7 a.m. Sunday, per Hawaiian Electric
- Deaths: None confirmed as storm-related; one fatal crash near Ocean View remains under investigation
- Forecast: Center about 140 miles west of Honolulu with 65 mph winds as of Sunday’s 11 a.m. advisory; could become a hurricane again by Tuesday or Wednesday
No confirmed storm deaths, officials say
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said officials have not confirmed any deaths as a direct result of the storm; a fatal car crash near the island’s southern tip during the storm’s closest approach remains under investigation for a possible connection but has not been attributed to it. Big Island Now reported the crash was a two-car collision in Ocean View.
Homes swept away, more damaged
The worst damage struck the Kaʻū District’s Nāʻālehu and Waiʻohinu communities, where flash flooding swept homes off their foundations Saturday night; the National Weather Service reported at 9:53 p.m. that two homes had been swept away. Green said more than 100 homes across the southern Big Island were destroyed or damaged. Rescuers pulled an elderly woman from one of the washed-away homes and carried out about five vehicle rescues, part of a joint operation by Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense, fire and police departments, the Hawaiʻi National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard that used National Guard high-water vehicles and a Coast Guard helicopter. “What makes this very challenging is that there’s rushing water, there’s debris and there’s boulders,” Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda said. Green also warned of ongoing landslide risk: “When you have 28 inches of rain, there’s going to be a ton of landslides.”
Rain topped 30 inches in spots, and it even snowed
Rainfall on the Big Island reached 28 to 33-plus inches in the hardest-hit areas, with more than 33 inches recorded at Laupahoehoe, according to CBS News. That total surpassed Hurricane Hone, an August 2024 storm that passed roughly 50 miles south of the Big Island without making landfall and dropped 18-plus inches of rain in spots, according to Yale Climate Connections. Rare snow also fell at Mauna Kea’s roughly 13,800-foot summit, where Lala’s heavy moisture met sub-freezing high-altitude air and wind gusts reported above 100 mph — an unusual sight in August, confirmed by the Center for Maunakea Stewardship’s rangers and the summit’s visitor station.
Power out for hundreds of thousands
Hawaiian Electric said more than 250,900 customers remained without power across the islands as of 7 a.m. Sunday, even as crews had already restored more than 82,000. On Hawaii Island, the count for that same hour was published two ways: about 50,800 customers without power in Hawaiian Electric’s own island-by-island breakdown, and roughly 58,000 in a report by the local outlet Big Island Now — a gap the available reporting does not resolve.
Outages on the other islands as of 7 a.m. Sunday, per Hawaiian Electric:
- Oahu: about 173,900 customers
- Maui County: about 26,200 customers
- Kauai: about 3,540 customers
Reports through the day Sunday had ranged more broadly, from roughly 217,000 to nearly 260,000, as the total shifted hour by hour. Although the heaviest flooding and home damage struck Hawaii Island, tropical storm conditions reached Oahu, Maui County and Kauai too, and those islands also show large numbers of customers without power despite being farther from the storm’s closest approach. “It is going to take time,” utility spokesperson Darren Pai said, adding that the hardest-hit rural parts of Hawaii Island could be without power for weeks or months; about 100 crew members from mainland utilities were expected to begin arriving as early as Tuesday.
Airports, ports and schools disrupted
Hilo International Airport closed Saturday morning and Kona International Airport followed Saturday afternoon, according to Hawaii News Now. Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines cancelled 48 neighbor-island and 11 transpacific flights for Aug. 16 alone, airline officials said, part of days of cancellations under a travel waiver. Big Island and Maui County commercial ports also closed. Nāʻālehu Elementary School is closed through Thursday, Aug. 20, because of storm damage and road closures, and Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary is closed Monday, Aug. 17, while the state Department of Education assesses the campus, Hawaii News Now reported.
Response and what’s next
Green signed an emergency proclamation Aug. 13, ahead of the storm; the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency posted the proclamation with a release date of that day. News coverage reported that it activated the state’s Major Disaster Fund and authorized activation of the Hawaiʻi National Guard. About 180 National Guard personnel were positioned statewide to support rescue operations, and eight shelters opened on Oahu — five staffed with public health nurses — along with additional shelters on Hawaii Island, Hawaii News Now reported. A hurricane warning that had covered the Big Island was cancelled at 1:55 a.m. Sunday and replaced by a tropical storm warning; as of midday Sunday, tropical storm warnings remained active for Maui County, Oahu and Kauai.
As of the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. HST advisory Sunday, Lala’s center was about 140 miles west of Honolulu with maximum sustained winds near 65 mph, moving west-northwest at 16 mph and pulling away from the islands. Forecasters said little change in strength is expected through Monday, Aug. 17, but warm ocean water along its path could allow it to strengthen again — the agency’s forecast says Lala “could become a hurricane again” by Tuesday or Wednesday, though it’s expected to stay south of the main islands, and forecasters cautioned that wind shear and dry air in the environment could limit how much it restrengthens.
Timeline
Aug. 13, 2026 | Gov. Josh Green signs an emergency proclamation ahead of the storm; news coverage says it activates the state’s Major Disaster Fund. Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026 (morning/afternoon) | Hilo International Airport closes Saturday morning; Kona International Airport follows Saturday afternoon. Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026 (5 p.m.) | Lala’s center is about 30 miles southwest of South Point, its closest approach to the Big Island. Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026 (late) | Lala reaches peak sustained winds of 75 mph as its eyewall sweeps the Big Island’s south side. Saturday night, Aug. 15, 2026 | Flash flooding sweeps homes off their foundations in Nāʻālehu and Waiʻohinu; the National Weather Service reports two homes swept away at 9:53 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026 (1:55 a.m.) | The hurricane warning for the Big Island is cancelled and replaced with a tropical storm warning. Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026 (7 a.m.) | Hawaiian Electric reports more than 250,900 customers still without power statewide. Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026 (11 a.m. HST) | National Hurricane Center advisory: Lala’s center about 140 miles west of Honolulu, winds near 65 mph, pulling away from the islands. Monday, Aug. 17, 2026 | Kaʻū High & Pāhala Elementary is closed while the campus is assessed; little change in Lala’s strength is expected. Tuesday or Wednesday, Aug. 18-19, 2026 | Forecasters say Lala could become a hurricane again, though it’s expected to stay south of the main islands. Through Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026 | Nāʻālehu Elementary School remains closed because of storm damage and road closures.
Sources and further reading
- NWS/NOAA Alerts feed for Hawaii Hurricane Warnings
- Hurricane Lala Public Advisory (Advisory #18)
- NWS Alerts API query: Tropical Storm Warnings, Hawaii
- Tropical Storm Lala Public Advisory (mobile text)
- Office of the Governor — News Release — Gov. Green Signs Emergency Proclamation Ahead of Tropical Storm Lala
- Central Pacific tropical cyclone status page
- weather.gov