Communities across Hawaii are facing a dual threat as they work to recover from Hurricane Lala while monitoring a second tropical system developing in the Pacific. Lala caused extensive damage last weekend, destroying homes, knocking out power to thousands of residents, and claiming two lives. As of Thursday, approximately 13,200 customers on the Big Island remained without electricity, with utility officials estimating that restoring power in the most affected areas could take at least two weeks.
A new atmospheric depression located roughly 960 miles east-southeast of Hilo is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm later Thursday and potentially pass near or south of Hawaii’s Big Island over the weekend. The U.S. Central Pacific Hurricane Center warned that the system could produce up to 15 inches of rainfall across the Big Island and pose threats of life-threatening flooding, mudslides, and dangerous rip currents. However, forecasters indicated it remains too early to determine the precise trajectory or the full extent of impacts the system will have on the islands.
State leadership has scheduled a news conference Thursday afternoon to address both the incoming weather threat and ongoing recovery operations from Lala. The original hurricane was the first major cyclone of 2026 in the Central Pacific and produced extreme precipitation, with the northeastern coast of the Big Island recording 43.54 inches of rain. The system also caused significant infrastructure damage, including destroyed homes washed from their foundations and damaged bridges.
Lala claimed two lives: a man discovered in a pasture and May Doi, a 93-year-old former kindergarten teacher who residents said was attempting to escape rising floodwaters in her home. Community members remembered Doi as an integral figure in her small town who had taught multiple generations of local residents. Meanwhile, Lala continues moving westward across remote areas of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, maintaining hurricane-strength winds and expected to remain at that intensity through the weekend.
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