HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Lala formed Thursday in the Pacific Ocean and a hurricane warning has been issued for the Big Island of Hawaii, where it could bring heavy rain and flooding this weekend, forecasters said.
The storm is forecast to bring rain to the Hawaiian Islands starting late Friday as well as high winds and dangerous surf, the National Hurricane Center said. A tropical storm watch was added for Maui County, with tropical storm conditions
possible in the next 36 to 48 hours, forecasters said.
Lala was about 555 miles (890 kilometers) east-southeast of Hawaii with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), the Miami-based center said. It's moving west.
Lala is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the Big Island. It's expected to be near the island Saturday. A hurricane warning means hurricane conditions are expected, and it is typically issued 36 hours before potential tropical-storm-force winds.
The system could bring rainfall totals of 8 inches to a foot (up to about 30 centimeters) across Maui and the Big Island, with as much as 25 inches (nearly 64 centimeters) possible across the Big Island, forecasters said. That could produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, the center said.
Also in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Hernan formed Thursday but that storm wasn't threatening land.
Hernan was about 1,460 miles (2,350 kilometers) west of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, the center said. Maximum sustained winds were around 45 mph (72 kph) and it was moving west-southwest.
In the Atlantic Ocean, former Tropical Storm Cristobal weakened and degenerated into a post-tropical remnant low on Thursday, the center said. It was about 500 miles (805 kilometers) west of the Azores and didn't threaten land.
