Lala weakens to tropical storm, brings heavy rain, wind, flooding to Hawaii
More than 30 inches of rain have fallen on the Big Island.
By Megan Fahrney, Michelle Simmons, Jon Haworth, Kyle Reiman, Jason Volack, and Nadine El-Bawab
August 16, 2026, 1:55 PM
Lala has weakened to a tropical storm, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), after making a direct hit on the Big Island of Hawaii as a Category 1 hurricane, resulting in flooding across the Aloha State and causing at least one death.
The storm continued to churn near Hawaii on Sunday, with maximum sustained winds decreasing to 65 mph from 70 mph earlier in the day, which brought heavy flooding rain and damaging wind as it bore down on the state's Big Island.
Lala was moving northwest at 14 mph on Sunday, with its center about 75 miles southwest of Honolulu.
Conditions continue to improve on the Big Island, where a tropical storm warning has been canceled, but remains in effect for the rest of the state.
The impact from widespread residual flooding persists throughout the Big Island, however, and additional rounds of scattered thunderstorms could still trigger flash flooding.
Heavy rain and gusty winds continue to impact Maui, Oahu and Kauai counties.
A flash flood warning is in effect for Oahu County, with rainfall rates of more than one inch per hour possible.
Wind gusts were near 45 mph at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu.
Flood Watches remain in effect across all of the Hawaiian Islands.
A hurricane warning for the Big Island in Hawaii County was replaced on Sunday with a tropical storm warning, with a tropical storm warning remaining for all Hawaiian Islands.
Lala made a direct hit on the Big Island early Sunday, meaning its strongest winds from the eyewall of the system moved over land. The eye of the storm remained offshore and failed to make landfall.
Lala tracked about 46 miles to the south, or about 31 miles to the southwest, of South Point on its closest approach to the Big Island.
The last time that the Big Island took a direct hit from a hurricane was Hurricane Hone in 2024, when it passed to the south of the Big Island before moving westward. Hone passed about 50 miles to the south of South Point on its closest approach to the Big Island.
As of Sunday morning, the Big Island had received 1 to 2 feet of rain since Friday. The community of Laupahoehoe on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island has gotten more than 33 inches of rain since Friday.
"The Trump Administration continues tracking and monitoring conditions on the ground in Hawaii. While Hawaii has not requested Federal assistance under the Stafford Act as of today, the USCG is supporting search and rescue at the request of the Hawaii County Fire Department," White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement Sunday.
"The Trump Administration is prepared to provide assistance in support of locally led and state managed emergency operations," the statement added.
During Lala's peak and closest approach to the Big Island, a weather station at the Mauna Kea Summit in a mountainous area of the Big Island recorded a 140 mph wind gust. Lower elevations of the islands recorded winds peaking at between 70 and 80 mph.
Lala is expected to continue moving generally westward on Sunday and into Monday, bringing tropical-storm-force winds, bands of rain and rough surf to the Hawaiian Islands.
An additional 4 to 6 inches of rain for the Hawaiian Islands is expected through Sunday and into Monday, with localized spots possibly getting up to 8 inches.
As it menaced the Big Island as a Category 1 hurricane earlier Sunday, the NWS issued a life-threatening flash flood emergency for parts of the Big Island, including the communities of Naalegu, Pahala and Hawaiian Ocean View.
At one point, rain was falling at a rate of 3 to 5 inches per hour in some areas, according to the NWS.
Local law enforcement reported that two homes were swept away due to the intense rainfall over Naalehu. Officials declared the flooding a "particularly dangerous situation," and urged residents on Saturday to seek higher ground.
On Saturday, one person was killed in a storm-related car crash as Lala began to intensify and make its closest approach to the Big Island, officials said.
More than 217,00 utility customers remain without power across Hawaii on Sunday, with the majority in Honolulu County, according to PowerOutage.us.
Power companies said as the storm approached that residents should plan for possible extended outages, pointing to wind gusts of upward of 60 mph. Trees and debris blown into power lines were the primary cause of the current outages.
Over 200 flights were canceled on Saturday across Hawaii as Lala approached, according to FlightAware. Norwegian Cruise Line said some of its cruise itineraries would be impacted.
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About 180 Hawaii National Guard members were activated and positioned across the state to support rescue operations. High-water vehicles were also placed in each county, and additional military and federal resources were available if needed.
Gov. Josh Green signed an emergency proclamation ahead of the storm, allowing the state to quickly use resources from a $100 million disaster fund.
Schools and state education offices on Hawaii Island, Maui, Lanai and Molokai were closed for the weekend, with events canceled.
