Hurricane Lala passed over south Big Island, but the eye apparently did not make landfall. Lala was at that time a hurricane at 80 MPH. Some quotes: Hurricane Lala began pulling away from the Big Island late Saturday night, but damaging winds and torrential rain continued to pose a serious threat, with a flash flood emergency in effect for Naalehu after two homes were reportedly swept away by floodwaters. Lala remained a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as of 11 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The storm was located about 65 miles west of Kailua-Kona and 130 miles south-southeast of Honolulu and was moving northwest at 15 mph. Additional rainfall of 4 to 8 inches is expected across the Big Island and windward Maui, with storm totals potentially reaching 30 to 35 inches over the windward Big Island. Elsewhere in the island chain, 4 to 6 inches of rain is expected, with maximum amounts of up to 8 inches. Gov. Josh Green said ...
As I compose this posting, Lala early this morning was still a tropical storm heading westward for the eye making landfall over the southern portion of the Big Island of Hawaii. However, all signs point towards a strengthening into a hurricane. A Category 1 means sustained winds of from 74-95 MPH . If this projected path is maintained, Kona will be seriously impacted, but Hilo might not. My first job after graduating from college was at the Hutchinson Sugar Company in Naalehu, the southernmost city in the USA. This part of Kau County could well be very severely damaged by this hurricane. The media have mostly indicated that official historical records don't show a hurricane has ever made landfall over the Big Island. However, Google AI indicates: On August 9, 1871 , a powerful Category 3 hurricane struck the islands of Hawaiʻi (the Big Island) and Maui , causing severe, tornado-like destruction and widespread property damage from Hilo to Lahaina. [ 1 , 2 , ...