Lala is a few hours away from the Big Island, likely to just brush the south coast as a tropical storm or minimal hurricane. Here’s the CPHC Key messages regarding Tropical Storm Lala (en Español: Mensajes Claves), hurricane warnings are up for the Big Island, elsewhere tropical storm warnings:
Even if technically the surface winds don’t reach hurricane strength, higher elevations and exposed ridgelines will probably get hurricane winds since due to surface friction. At 1500 feet, winds in the eyewall can be 30% higher than at the surface! This graph (click to embiggen) shows the vertical wind profiles in hurricanes, from GPS dropsondes.
Damage estimates have dropped a bit as the storm isn’t as organized or strong as forecast a couple days ago. if you’re on the islands follow the advice of local emergency managers and prepare for a stormy Saturday. Heavy rain, gusty winds, and high waves are all in the mix.
Elsewhere, the West Pacific has a couple of Invest areas, as does the Atlantic and East Pacific, but none are looking to spin up or be problems at this point.
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