Tropical Storm Moke advances towards Hawaii with heavy rain, strong winds

Weather News | Al Jazeera Skip linksSkip to Contentplay Live Sign upShow navigation menuNavigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfrica.

On Saturday, Hawaii residents prepared for the latest storm, which is expected to pass south of Hawaii Island, the largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, overnight and into the following morning.

list 1 of 3Hurricane Lala weakens to a tropical storm, but flooding persists in Hawaii.

list 2 of 3Storm Lala strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane as it nears Hawaii.

list 3 of 3Tropical Storm Lala leaves Hawaii flooded and without power.

As of 11am Hawaii Standard Time (21:00 GMT), Moke was located about 684 kilometres, or 425 miles, south of Hilo, a city on the eastern coast of Hawaii Island. It was moving west-northwest at 19km/h (12mph).

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in the United States reported that the storm’s maximum sustained winds were about 85km/h (50mph).

Moke, like Lala, is forecast to spare the Big Island a potentially disastrous direct hit. But the island is still recovering from Lala, a Category 1 storm that spurred heavy flooding and power outages.

At least one person died in last weekend’s storm.

Lala came close enough to Hawaii Island to dump more than 1,000mm (39 inches) of rain in some locations, causing rivers to burst their banks.

High winds also bent tall palm trees and downed electrical lines, forcing nearly 130,000 utility customers to lose power.

Green added that, while power had been restored to most of Hawaii Island after Lala, some remote areas were still experiencing outages. Power is expected to be fully restored by September 8.

After passing Hawaii Island during the night, Moke is projected to continue on a westward path near the islands through early Tuesday, according to Casey Oswant, a meteorologist with the Honolulu office of the US National Weather Service.

The National Hurricane Center projects that Moke will bring roughly 130mm to 250mm (5 to 10 inches) of rainfall over the next two days on the southeast and windward sides of the Big Island.

Some isolated areas could see as much as 380mm (15 inches).

Eastern Maui, meanwhile, is likely to receive 76mm to 150mm (3 to 6 inches), with smaller amounts of precipitation expected across the rest of the island chain.

Governor Green warned that the heavy rain is unlikely to end with Moke.

• It was moving west-northwest at 19km/h (12mph).
• R (NHC) in the United States reported that the storm’s maximum sustained winds were about 85km/h (50mph).