Tropical Storm Moke moved toward Hawaii on Saturday, threatening the Big Island with another episode of heavy rain, damaging gusts and possible flash floods while communities were still recovering from Hurricane Lala. The U.S. National Weather Service placed the entire island under a flood watch from midnight Saturday through Monday afternoon and issued a wind advisory for parts of the Big Island and Maui County through Sunday evening.
The National Hurricane Center reported that Moke had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph, or 85 kph, early Saturday as its center traveled west-northwest about 470 miles, or 755 kilometers, southeast of Hilo. Forecasters expected the center to pass south of the islands rather than make a direct landfall, but moisture on the storm's northern side was forecast to spread over Hawaii from Saturday night into Monday.
The weather service forecast 5 to 10 inches, or 13 to 25 centimeters, of rain on windward and southeast slopes of the Big Island, with isolated totals as high as 15 inches, or 38 centimeters. Elsewhere in the island chain, the Associated Press reported expected totals of 1 to 2 inches, while parts of eastern Maui could receive as much as 4 inches. Strong trade winds were also forecast to build from east to west through Sunday.
Officials said the danger was amplified by saturated ground and damaged infrastructure left by Lala days earlier. That hurricane downed trees, swept some buildings from their foundations, damaged roads and bridges and caused one reported death. The northeast Big Island recorded 43.54 inches, or about 1.1 meters, of rain from Lala, and roughly 9,000 customers there still lacked electricity on Saturday, according to figures cited by the Associated Press.
The flood watch warned that rapid runoff and overflowing streams could close low-lying roads, damage property and trigger life-threatening flooding or mudslides on steep terrain. The weather service also maintained small-craft restrictions as strengthening winds and fresh swell raised marine hazards. Hawaii Governor Josh Green and other state officials urged residents to replenish food, medicine and other essentials and to follow later forecasts and emergency instructions.
Rain was expected to continue mainly over windward and mountain areas on Monday as Moke moved west of the state. National Weather Service forecasters anticipated drier air and more typical trade-wind conditions returning from Tuesday, but stressed that the storm's track alone did not measure the flood threat because its broad moisture plume would pass over land already highly vulnerable to additional rainfall.
Comments