Hurricane Lala brought destruction to Hawaii, and in its wake, it left downed trees, along with landslides and mudslides that left towns and villages buried. Recovery efforts from Hurricane Lala are well underway, but the next tropical storm is already on the horizon.

 

The storm, currently Tropical Depression TWO-C, is forecasted to remain relatively weak while staying south of the islands through the weekend, though that doesn’t mean that it won’t have significant impacts. After Lala, Hawaii’s soils are thoroughly saturated, and another significant storm could cause flooding and land or mudslides that will make current recovery efforts even more difficult. While Hawaii is no stranger to tropical impacts, having 2 potentially named systems back to back is unusual.

 

Though the system is expected to stay to the south, Hawaii’s Big Island could see up to a foot of rain as the storm approaches, especially on the windward side of the island where slopes are steeper. Rainfall from Lala has already made these slopes unstable, and more rainfall could destabilize them, causing more mudslides or landslides and making recovery after Lala more difficult.

 

With TWO C being forecasted on the weaker side, its path and impact could change significantly as the weekend progresses. Current conditions and forecasts indicate that it could still die out before reaching the Islands, but until that happens, it is safe to assume impact will occur.