OAN Staff Katherine Mosack and Brooke Mallory
3:33 PM – Friday, August 12, 2026
Hawaii Democrat Governor Josh Green has declared a statewide State of Emergency as Tropical Storm Lala continues to strengthen on its approach to the Hawaiian Islands.
The storm threatens to bring heavy rainfall, dangerous flash flooding, mudslides, life-threatening surf and rip currents across the state.
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the Big Island, where conditions are expected to deteriorate starting late Friday into Saturday as Lala approaches. Meanwhile, Maui County is also under a Tropical Storm Warning, being upgraded from a watch, and a Tropical Storm Watch remains in effect for Oahu and Kauai.
As of Friday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center have a Hurricane Warning in effect for Hawaii County, with hurricane conditions expected on the Big Island on Saturday.
Updated model guidance and official forecasts now support the possibility of a direct landfall or very near approach on the Big Island on Saturday, after which the storm’s track is expected to bend just south of Maui, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, and Niʻihau.
The system is forecast to produce 8 to 12 inches of rain across Maui and the Big Island, with isolated amounts of up to 25 inches possible on the Big Island. Coastal areas also face a storm surge of 1 to 3 feet, along with life-threatening high surf and dangerous rip currents.
Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda has urged residents to complete preparations, noting the potential severity of the system.
As of the most recent Friday advisories, Tropical Storm Lala was moving west-northwest at approximately 12–14 mph with maximum sustained winds near 60 mph. Steady intensification is expected, and Lala is forecast to become a hurricane (with sustained winds of at least 74 mph) as it approaches the Big Island.
If Lala reaches hurricane strength and makes landfall anywhere in Hawaii, it would be the first hurricane landfall in the state since Hurricane Iniki struck Kauaʻi in 1992 — a span of 34 years. If it makes landfall on the Big Island as a hurricane, it would be the first recorded hurricane landfall on the Big Island.
The only previous hurricane landfalls on the main Hawaiian Islands were Hurricane Dot (1959, Category 1) and Hurricane Iniki (1992, Category 4), both on Kauaʻi. Lala organized on Thursday amid an active El Niño pattern featuring elevated sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific.
“We’re not exempt from these extreme weather conditions. So, we’ve been here before, and messages have already gone out. But this could look like a big one,” Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda told CBS News Friday morning.
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