Hurricane Lala

Hurricane Lala was the first hurricane to directly hit the Big Island since an unnamed hurricane in 1871 and the third-wettest tropical cyclone to affect the U.S. state of Hawaii on record. The ninth named storm, third hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2026 Pacific hurricane season, Lala formed on August 12 from a tropical wave in the central Eastern Pacific, and it steadily intensified for the next couple of days. On August 15, Lala strengthened into a hurricane as it approached Hawaii's Big Island and reached its initial peak intensity early the following day. Interaction with the mountainous terrain of the island caused it to weaken back to a tropical storm later that day. While moving away from the Hawaiian Islands, Lala resumed intensifying and strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane on August 19. A powerful and long-lived tropical cyclone, Lala persisted for several more days over the open Pacific Ocean before finally degenerating to a remnant low well northwest of Hawaii on August 28. Shortly after its formation, tropical cyclone watches and warnings were issued for every island in Hawaii. A state of emergency was declared for the entire state on August 13, and multiple shelters were opened as preparations were underway. Lala dropped torrential rainfall, leading to flash flooding and across many of the islands. Strong gusts, especially in the Big Island, downed power lines and trees which left hundreds of thousands of customers without electricity and, coupled by the flash floods, damaged or destroyed more than a hundred homes all throughout the state. As of August 22, at least four fatalities have been attributed to Lala.