Hawaii is now facing flooding from Moke just a week after destructive flooding and winds from Hurricane Lala last weekend.
(MORE: Hurricane Lala cleanup begins in Hawaii, 100 Big Island homes damaged)
Where is Moke right now?
Tropical Depression Moke is located roughly 300 miles southwest of Hilo, moving toward the west. Moke is pronounced “MOH-keh.”
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The National Hurricane Center issued its first advisory on Tropical Depression Two-C Thursday morning. It was upgraded to a tropical storm Friday morning.
(MORE: What tropical terms mean)
What is the forecast?
Moke is tracking farther south of the islands than Lala last weekend. Even though the storm is further from the islands, it doesn’t mean there won’t still be impacts.
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Rainfall, changes in wind and high surf are ramping up now, and likely continuing through Monday.
It will then move west of the rest of the island chain by Tuesday.
Moke may eventually battle wind shear and drier air, and that should keep its wind intensity in check as a tropical storm.
What are the impacts to Hawaii?
The most serious concern is additional heavy rain and flash flooding just days after Hurricane Lala triggered damaging flooding on the Big Island, and locally flooding rain in other parts of the island chain.
A flood watch is in effect for the Big Island.
According to the National Hurricane Center, several more inches of additional rainfall is possible on the Big Island, especially over the mountains and eastern slopes.
(MORE: Back-to-back Hawaii threats in one week have only happened once before since 1950)
This means additional life-threatening flash flooding and landslides are likely, especially over mountains and nearby slopes.
While there are no tropical storm watches on the island due to Moke traveling further south than Lala, there is still a chance of some gusty winds, especially within and downslope of higher terrain.