Tropical Storm Lala formed over the Pacific Ocean on Thursday and is heading toward the Hawaiian Islands, bringing with it heavy rain, flooding and potentially deadly surf and rip currents.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the Big Island, and a tropical storm watch is in effect for Maui County, including the islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe.
But you may be thinking, an L-named tropical storm? In August? Well, it turns out, storms in the Central North Pacific have a different naming convention from those in the Atlantic Ocean, and even from the Eastern North Pacific.
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Tropical Storm Lala
Lala is expected to make landfall on the Big Island by early Saturday, local time. It could bring up to 25 inches of rain, but the storm’s main threats vary depending on location.
The heavy rainfall may create mudslides and result in flooding. The National Weather Service also warned of large waves, with surges as high as 3 feet along the coast, along with life-threatening rip currents.
The prolonged heavy rainfall could also cause localized coastal flooding, the weather service said, and significant beach erosion.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, activating potential relief funds and directing “all state agencies and officers to cooperate and extend their services, materials, and facilities as may be required to assist in emergency response efforts.”
So why is it called Lala?
During every Atlantic hurricane season, we’re reminded that tropical storm systems are named in alphabetical order, based on a list of alternating feminine and masculine names created by the National Hurricane Center. Those names are recycled every six years, unless a storm is so catastrophic that the weather service retires it.
That’s not how it works in the Pacific Ocean, however.
Different procedures apply, depending on whether a storm forms in the Eastern North Pacific or the Central North Pacific.
For storms in the Eastern North Pacific, the weather service follows a similar procedure to the Atlantic: it goes through a list of names in alphabetical order.
The storm taking aim at Hawaii, however, formed in the Central North Pacific, where names are pulled from three lists.
The names are used in order, regardless of season or year. So, if the final storm of last year was the 11th name on list one, the first storm of this year will be the 12th name from the same list. When that list is exhausted, forecasters move on to the next.
So, since last season ended with Tropical Storm Keli, this year began at “L” — Lala, now threatening Hawaii.
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