While tropical activity begins ramping up in the Atlantic, the already busy Pacific season could soon see its third hurricane of the year in the form of Hurricane Lala.
The system could impact Hawaii by the weekend, forecasters said, and is likely to have more impacts than Fausto did when it fizzled north of the islands a couple of weeks ago, according to Weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman.
"This system may take a day or two to consolidate," he said in an Aug. 11 online forecast. "Right now, its thunderstorms are spread out over 1,000 miles."
Hawaii could be in the crosshairs
"There is the potential for a tropical cyclone to impact a portion of the state [Hawaii] this weekend," the weather service in Honolulu warned on the afternoon of Aug. 11.
Still more than 1,000 miles
from Hawaii, the disturbance is likely to develop by mid-week and move toward the west-northwest. It has a 90% chance of becoming a named storm by Aug. 18. The next name up in the center's storm name rotation for the Central Pacific basin is Lala.
Because a system has not yet developed, "there is significant uncertainty in the long-range track and intensity forecasts," the weather service said. "While it is too soon to determine the exact location or magnitude of potential storm surge, wind, and rainfall impacts associated with this system, interests across the state should closely monitor the progress of the system this week."
In an Aug. 11 post on X, Andy Hazelton, a research scientist at the University of Miami, wrote that "models have generally trended towards a closer pass and potentially direct impact on Hawaii this weekend."
In Substack post, WPLG-TV hurricane specialist Michael Lowry said models suggest Lala could be a strong tropical storm or even borderline hurricane as it approaches Hawaii late Saturday, Aug. 15, into Sunday, Aug. 16, local time, with the possibility of it affecting multiple islands.
El Niño watch
The powerful El Niño in the Pacific Ocean is making its presence felt across the oceans, Hazelton told USA TODAY on Aug. 11. The natural climate pattern tends to reduce activity in the Atlantic but boost it in the Pacific.
"Everything we're seeing is classic El Niño," Hazelton said. "The wind shear over the Atlantic, the activity in the Central and Western Pacific." The Atlantic has yet to see its third named storm, which typically arrives by Aug. 3.
Map tracks the path of developing storms
Hurricane safety tips
With the season heating up in both basins, this is a good time to review hurricane safety tips. According to the weather service, the two biggest hurricane killers are storm surge and inland flooding, so it's a good idea to "know your evacuation zone, heed evacuation orders, and never drive through flooded roads." Several storm-related deaths in 2026 have been attributed to vehicles driving over flooded roads.
In addition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration advises folks to gather an emergency kit that includes at least three days of water (1 gallon per person per day), nonperishable food, medications, flashlights, batteries, cash and a battery-powered or hand-crank weather radio.
Also, NOAA advises people to have multiple ways to receive warnings and not rely solely on their phones, such as weather radios, emergency alerts, TV, radio and trusted weather apps.
Doyle Rice and Dinah Voyles Pulver are national correspondents with USA TODAY, specializing in weather and climate. Reach Rice at drice@usatoday.com and Pulver at dpulver@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane forecast warns Hawaii could face 'direct impact' from storm
