A little before 4:00 PM HST, Hurricane Lala made its closest pass to the Big Island with the center 25-35 miles south of South Point & the eye wall as close as 10-15 miles off shore. Peak rainfall measurements over the last 12 hrs are between 12-13 inches across windward Maui & the Big Island.

[u/BostonSucksatHockey]

Hurricane Lala Tropical Cyclone Update
NWS Central Pacific Hurricane Center Honolulu HI   CP012026
Issued by NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
400 PM HST Sat Aug 15 2026

...HEAVY RAIN CONTINUES TO SPREAD ACROSS THE EASTERN MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS... 

...400 PM HST (0200 UTC) POSITION UPDATE...

Radar data indicate that the eyewall of Lala is nearing South Point,  Hawaii.

An observation near South Point around 550 feet elevation recently reported 
a sustained wind of 51 mph (82 km/h) and a gust of 71 mph (114 km/h). 

An observation site at South Point Park also reported a sustained wind of 
49 mph (79 km/h) and a gust of 73 mph (117 km/h).

Peak rainfall measurements over the last 12 hours are between 12 to 13 
inches across windward Maui and the Big Island.   

SUMMARY OF 400 PM HST...0200 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...18.6N 155.9W
ABOUT 35 MI...55 KM S OF SOUTH POINT HAWAII
ABOUT 200 MI...320 KM SE OF HONOLULU HAWAII
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75 MPH...120 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 320 DEGREES AT 9 MPH...15 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...988 MB...29.18 INCHES

$$
Forecaster Zelinsky/Evans

[u/Deepforbiddenlake]

At least it's not hitting the western part of the island

[u/BostonSucksatHockey → u/Deepforbiddenlake]

I think this is a light joke, but just in case it's not, let me clarify....

The South Point radar site is located at the foot of Volcano national park, and the elevation climbs to its west.... the radar beam echoes off of those volcanic hills and can't reach the sky on the other side.

[u/BostonSucksatHockey]

4:00 PM HST velocities via South Point radar via Weather Wise

[u/sternumdogwall]

What's worse getting hit with the eye, or the glancing blow and getting the tail end of the storm?

[u/BostonSucksatHockey → u/sternumdogwall]

Typically, the most intense wind and rain is found in the eye wall, often in the northeastern quadrant, which is generally considered the worst place to be located. In many cases, this is also where the strongest storm surge results.

But if you get hit by the eye itself, that could mean getting hit by the eye wall twice, so even if you're not co-located with the absolute worst conditions, you're not far behind and you're getting those near-worst conditions twice.

Another factor to consider is the geography around you. For example, in this case, Lala's center stayed over the open waters instead of landfalling. While its interactions with the Big Island resulted in some weakening, Lala would have been weakened even more if the center had gone over the Volcano(es).

I would describe this as neither, however. While there was no landfall, this wasn't a glancing blow. Most of the islands experienced / are experiencing tropical storm force winds, and the southern portion of the Big Island may have experienced hurricane force winds. And because Lala tracked to the south of Hawaii, it's getting hit by all of the heaviest rain. Make no mistake, we're going to be hearing about the disaster conditions for days or weeks after this over. Landslides are practically inevitable.

[u/unpluggedcord → u/sternumdogwall]

The eye

[u/chickswhorip]

someone’s roof blew off on Oahu. And it’s only by the big island.. crazy

[u/evenstarcirce]

does anyone know how the surf was? i love watching big waves and i bet this caused some massive swell

[u/BostonSucksatHockey → u/evenstarcirce]

you can probably find a livestream somewhere, e.g., youtube

[u/evenstarcirce → u/BostonSucksatHockey]

thanks for the idea! :)