Tropical Storm Lala was already whipping and soaking Hawaii’s Big Island early Saturday, with forecasts saying it could strengthen into a hurricane or at the least, bring hurricane-force winds as it approaches land.
The National Hurricane Center issued a rare hurricane warning for the island, which hasn’t experienced a direct hurricane landfall in 155 years.
Forecasters said higher elevations could get as much as 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain. That could cause life-threatening mudslides in a mountainous area where people live off the grid in improvised housing, and authorities urged them to find safe shelters quickly.
“This is an enormous storm,” Gov. Josh Green said. Tropical storm force winds extended outward for as much as 220 miles (350 km), and were expected to hit the islands of Oahu and Kauai by Sunday morning.
