Barely a week after Hurricane Lala submerged parts of Hawaii under nearly four feet of rain, Tropical Storm Moke is approaching from the south — a reminder that nature does not pause for recovery. The danger lies less in Moke's own strength than in what it inherits: ground so saturated that even modest rainfall becomes a trigger for floods and mudslides. In the broader arc of a warming Pacific, Hawaii finds itself navigating not a single catastrophe but a compounding season, one storm layered upon another while communities and governments scramble to hold the line.
Tropical Storm Moke threatens Hawaii with up to 15 inches of rain
Communities across Hawaii experiencing storm fatigue and recovery challenges; life-threatening flooding and mudslides pose direct risk to residents in vulnerable areas.
Storm fatigue is setting in as another system approaches
Mark
Why does a second storm hit so much harder when the first one wasn't even that strong?
Mimi
Because the ground remembers. After Lala dumped nearly four feet of rain in some places, the soil is saturated. It can't absorb more water. So when Moke arrives with 5 to 15 inches, that water has nowhere to go but downhill—fast.
Mark
But Moke is weaker than Lala was. Shouldn't that be better?
Mimi
Strength isn't the only measure. A weaker storm can still kill you if the conditions are right. Mudslides don't care about wind speed; they care about water volume on steep slopes. The Big Island has both.
Mark
What's the human element here? What are people actually doing right now?
Mimi
They're tired. That's the real story. Bissen used the word "storm fatigue." People are still cleaning up, still dealing with downed trees and power outages from last weekend. Now they have to prepare again. Some are probably wondering if they should evacuate, if their homes will hold, if the roads will even be passable.
Mark
Is there a larger pattern at work?
Mimi
Yes. El Niño is warming the Pacific. Warm water feeds hurricanes. The wind patterns that normally break storms apart aren't doing their job. So Hawaii is getting hit harder and more often than usual. This isn't random bad luck—it's a season.
Mark
What happens if Moke does what forecasters expect?
Mimi
The Big Island gets soaked again. Mudslides in the mountains. Flooding in the valleys. Power goes out. Roads wash away. Then the cleanup begins again, and people wait to see what comes next.
O Pulso
- Hawaii had barely begun to exhale after Hurricane Lala's historic deluge when forecasters confirmed Tropical Storm Moke was already on its way, arriving within days.
- The real threat is not Moke's winds but the land beneath it — soil so waterlogged from Lala's 48 inches of rain that even 5 inches more could send hillsides sliding and rivers surging.
- Emergency centers that had just been stood down were immediately reactivated, and officials are asking exhausted residents to prepare for another storm while still digging out from the last.
- Governor Josh Green has appealed to the White House for a federal emergency declaration covering both storms, as the state stretches its resources across simultaneous recovery and preparation.
- Behind both storms is a warming Pacific driven by El Niño, which supercharges hurricane formation and strips away the wind shear that would otherwise break these systems apart — making this an above-average season with Hawaii squarely in its path.
Barely a week after Hurricane Lala submerged parts of Hawaii under nearly four feet of rain, Tropical Storm Moke is approaching from the south — a reminder that nature does not pause for recovery. The danger lies less in Moke's own strength than in what it inherits: ground so saturated that even modest rainfall becomes a trigger for floods and mudslides. In the broader arc of a warming Pacific, Hawaii finds itself navigating not a single catastrophe but a compounding season, one storm layered upon another while communities and governments scramble to hold the line.
Hawaii woke Saturday to the news no recovering community wants to hear: another storm was coming. Tropical Storm Moke was bearing down from the south, expected to arrive Sunday with 45 mph winds and up to 15 inches of rain in the hardest-hit zones — just days after Hurricane Lala had left parts of the islands buried under nearly four feet of water.
Lala had been devastating despite staying roughly 30 miles offshore. Wind gusts exceeded 80 mph, and Kapalua on Maui absorbed 48 inches of rain in a single weekend. State officials had only just shut down their emergency information center when they were forced to reopen it for Moke.
What made Moke so alarming was not its intensity but its timing. The National Hurricane Center warned of life-threatening flooding and mudslides on the Big Island's steep windward slopes, where the ground was already beyond saturation. Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen put it plainly: even light rain could now trigger flooding, debris flows, downed trees, and power outages. He asked residents to prepare even as many were still deep in recovery.
Forecasters tracked Moke moving west at 14 mph Saturday evening, expecting its center to pass south of the Big Island on Sunday before drifting away from warm Pacific waters and weakening. The Big Island faced 5 to 15 inches of rain, eastern Maui 3 to 6 inches, and the remaining islands 1 to 2 inches — numbers that would be manageable under normal conditions but were dangerous on terrain already compromised.
Governor Josh Green requested a federal emergency declaration from the White House covering both storms, describing teams working simultaneously on recovery and preparation. The dual burden reflected something larger: an El Niño phase warming the eastern Pacific, reducing the wind shear that normally disrupts developing storms, and fueling an above-average hurricane season — one that Hawaii, sitting directly in its path, was being forced to absorb storm by storm.
Hawaii woke Saturday to news that another storm was coming. Just days after Hurricane Lala had drenched the islands—some places receiving nearly four feet of rain in a single weekend—Tropical Storm Moke was bearing down from the south, expected to arrive by Sunday with winds near 45 miles per hour and rainfall that could reach 15 inches in the hardest-hit zones.
Lala had been a near-miss that turned into a direct hit. Though the hurricane's center stayed about 30 miles offshore from the Big Island, the storm still delivered wind gusts exceeding 80 miles per hour and torrential downpours. Kapalua, on Maui, absorbed 48 inches of rain over the weekend alone. The damage was extensive enough that state officials had only just deactivated their emergency information center when they were forced to reactivate it for Moke.
What made Moke particularly dangerous was not its strength but its timing. The National Hurricane Center warned that the Big Island's windward and southeastern slopes faced life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain where the ground was already saturated from Lala's deluge. Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen acknowledged the exhaustion setting in across the community. "Recent impacts from Tropical Storm Lala mean that even light to moderate rain and wind could trigger flooding, debris, downed trees, roadway issues and power outages," he said, asking residents to prepare even as many were still in recovery mode from the previous week.
Moke was moving west at 14 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph as of Saturday evening. Forecasters expected the storm's center to pass south of the Big Island on Sunday, then well south of the smaller islands early the following week. The system was not expected to strengthen further; weakening was likely to begin Sunday as it moved away from warm Pacific waters.
Rainfall projections showed the Big Island would see between 5 and 10 inches on average, with some locations receiving up to 15 inches. Eastern Maui would experience 3 to 6 inches. The remaining islands could expect 1 to 2 inches. These numbers, while lower than Lala's deluge, posed serious risk to terrain already compromised by a week of heavy precipitation and saturated soil.
Governor Josh Green had submitted an emergency declaration request to the White House, asking President Trump to authorize federal assistance for both storms. "Our teams are working on two fronts: helping communities recover from Lala while preparing for Moke," Green said. The dual effort reflected the strain on state resources and the reality that Hawaii was caught in an unusually active hurricane season.
That activity was rooted in larger climate patterns. An El Niño phase was warming waters across the eastern Pacific, creating ideal conditions for tropical cyclone development. Warm ocean water is the fuel that drives hurricane formation. More significantly, El Niño reduces vertical wind shear—the change in wind direction at different atmospheric levels—which normally tears apart developing storms. Without that shearing force, tropical systems in the region could maintain their structure and strength. The result was an above-average hurricane season, and Hawaii sat directly in the path.
Citações Notáveis
Even light to moderate rain and wind could trigger flooding, debris, downed trees, roadway issues and power outages on already-damaged terrain.— Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen
Our teams are working on two fronts: helping communities recover from Lala while preparing for Moke.— Governor Josh Green
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Leia o original em CBS News ↗
Climate & Environment