Tropical Storm Moke has formed in the vast Pacific Ocean, a system that could again threaten Hawaii with over a foot of rain just days after the state's unwelcome visit from Hurricane Lala.
"It appears the core of the storm will pass farther south of Hawaii than Lala did, perhaps 150-200 miles south of the Big Island," AccuWeather hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said in an online forecast. "Lala passed about 30 miles south of the southern tip of the Big Island last weekend."
According to the National Hurricane Center, Moke (pronounced MOH-keh) is located some 660 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, and is moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph. It has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
On Aug. 20, the hurricane center warned some locations could face
over a foot of rain from the system.
Environmental conditions appear favorable for gradual strengthening during the next few days as the system approaches the Hawaiian Islands, the hurricane center said in an online forecast.
Rain appears to be the main concern with Moke. "This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides for the windward and southeast Big Island, especially in steep terrain and over areas that were affected recently by Lala," the hurricane center said.
Big Island could be brushed again
The system will pass south of the Big Island of Hawaii over the next couple of days. Areas that experienced significant flooding from Lala will be especially susceptible to new flooding, even with lower rainfall amounts than previously experienced, AccuWeather said.
“The Big Island will be especially sensitive to flooding after Lala already caused significant flooding and mudslides last weekend,” said DaSilva in an e-mail to USA TODAY.
“The rainfall amounts and location of the rain is going to be largely dependent on the storm track, which could move farther south and largely miss the islands. That doesn't mean there wouldn't be significant impacts to land, though.”
AccuWeather said that up to 2 feet of rain could fall in parts of the Big Island. This would be on top of the over 3 feet that fell from Lala last weekend.
According to the hurricane center, heavy rainfall associated with Moke is expected to begin to impact the Big Island of Hawaii this weekend, beginning late on Aug. 22, spreading westward across the remainder of the Hawaiian Islands Aug. 23 into Aug. 24.
El Niño boosts hurricanes in the Pacific
El Niño, a natural warming of seawater in the tropical Pacific Ocean, often increases hurricane activity in the eastern and central Pacific basins, as the warmer waters provide more energy, and atmospheric conditions become more favorable for storms to form, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
El Niño has the opposite effect in the Atlantic, which has only seen three named storms so far this year.
Doyle Rice is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, with a focus on weather and climate.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tropical Storm Moke forms; over a foot of rain in forecast
