Tropical Storm Moke has developed over the Pacific, putting Hawaii on alert for what could become the second significant cyclone to affect the islands in consecutive weekends.
The system strengthened into a tropical storm shortly before 5pm ET Friday, packing sustained winds of 45 mph and bringing the threat of intense downpours that officials warn could trigger more flooding and mudslides on Hawaii’s Big Island.
Hawaii is still grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Lala, which swept across the island chain a week earlier, killing at least two people and destroying more than 100 homes.
In its latest advisory, the National Hurricane Center said: ‘Heavy rainfall associated with Moke will begin to impact the Big Island of Hawaii late Saturday night, with rain spreading westward across the remainder of the Hawaiian Islands Sunday into Monday.’
Forecasters added: ‘This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides for the windward and southeast Big Island, especially in steep terrain and over areas that were affected recently by Lala.’
Much of the Big Island, also known as Hawaiʻi Island, could see between four and 12 inches of rain through the weekend, raising concerns in areas already saturated by last week’s storm.
Moke is forecast to track farther south than Lala, a path that should limit the storm’s overall reach. By contrast, Hurricane Lala lashed the entire state, including the heavily populated islands of Oahu, Maui and Kauai.
Back-to-back storm impacts are uncommon in Hawaii. The last time two systems affected the state within a two-week period was in 2016, when Tropical Storm Madeline and Hurricane Lester moved through the region.
Tropical Storm Moke formed in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, August 21
Hawaii was severely affected by flooding during Hurricane Lala last week (Pictured)
Although Tropical Storm Moke is not predicted to reach hurricane strength, meaning its winds will not exceed 74 mph, meteorologists noted that the cyclone is significantly larger than Lala.
Rain bands from the storm stretch for roughly 200 miles from the cyclone’s center, reaching the Hawaiian islands and major tourist destinations such as Honolulu, Waikiki, Kahului and Kihei.
AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said in a statement: ‘Given the intense rain impacts from Lala last weekend, this is a vulnerable region that needs to be prepared for more flooding.’
NHC added that ‘life-threatening surf and rip current conditions’ may also develop this weekend in portions of Hawaii.
A rip current is a strong, narrow channel of water that flows quickly away from the shore, often pulling swimmers out to sea.
They can be deadly even for strong swimmers as they sweep people into deeper water, exhausting them as they try to fight against the current instead of moving parallel to the shore to escape.
The damage from Hurricane Lala has been estimated at $3-5 billion. Governor Josh Green noted that many homes on the Big Island were completely washed away by the intense flooding and mudslides last weekend.
Tropical Storm Moke continues to track toward Hawaii but is expected to pass approximately 180 miles to the south of the Big Island Sunday afternoon.
Tropical Storm Moke is expected to produce as much as 15 inches of rain on Hawaii’s Big Island
At least two people were killed when Hurricane Lala struck Hawaii on August 15 (Pictured)
Meteorologists have been warning that the 2026 Pacific hurricane season could be particularly active due to the emergence of a ‘super’ El Nino in June.
El Nino is a natural climate pattern in which the central and eastern Pacific surface temperature becomes significantly warmer than average, flipping weather patterns worldwide.
Due to the significantly warmer water in the Pacific fueling tropical cyclone activity, forecasters with AccuWeather predicted there would be 17 to 22 named storms across the Pacific this year.
Between nine and 13 of those are projected to be hurricanes, and as many as eight are predicted to reach ‘major hurricane’ status at Category 3 or greater.
So far, ten named storms have already formed in the Pacific, and hurricane season does not end until November 30.
‘This year, sea-surface temperatures are again well above average, while El Nino is contributing to less-hostile winds across the Pacific basin,’ DaSilva added.
‘Those conditions are a major reason AccuWeather correctly predicted back in May that Hawaii faced an increased risk of direct tropical impacts.’
