As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service was monitoring Tropical Depression Two-C, which was forecast to reach tropical storm strength, and possibly hurricane strength. It is forecast to pass south of the islands but could still bring heavy rain, especially to the windward and southern parts of Hawaiʻi Island.
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A tropical depression developing southeast of Hawaiʻi is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm and pass south of Hawaiian Islands, according to state and national weather officials.
John Bravender, warning coordination meteorologist with NOAA and the National Weather Service, said Tropical Depression Two-C does not have as big a wind field or wind speeds as strong as Lala, but could bring lots of rain. He said there is heightened concern because of the damage from Lala.
"With this rain, we can have more flooding damage," Bravender said. At its current track, the windward and southern sections of Hawaiʻi Island would see the most rainfall.
"Normally, this far out in time, we would say pay attention to the forecast. But what we are seeing, more yesterday and today, take action just in case," Bravender said. He added that because the ground is already saturated, the risk of flash flooding is heightened.
If the storm's wind speed reaches 40 mph, the storm will be named Tropical Storm Moke.
The head of the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan, said that the Hawaiʻi National Guard is preparing for the next storm and will be on site to monitor levels at dams that may overflow.
Cleanup for Lala is still ongoing. Logan said National Guard troops recovered over 60 remains Thursday from Nāʻalehu Cemetery on Hawaiʻi Island in an effort to secure the remains before upcoming rain.
The state and county have been moving forward to receive a federal disaster declaration.
On Thursday morning, Gov. Green spoke with Catherine Cruz of The Conversation to talk about the upcoming storm and recovery efforts from Lala. With the next storm, he is most concerned about the rain.
"We already saw what the impact of the flooding and the mud has been. That's actually what caused the most damage. It wasn't the winds that caused the greatest damage, although they were significant, it was the water," Green told the Conversation on Thursday.
Another concern is the Wahiawā Dam on Oʻahu. Water levels measured at the dam's spillway rose 20 feet during Lala, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
"But it only drops at about a foot a day at best. And when we get the land that is saturated, the reason it doesn't drop just as fast as it rises is because the land is saturated with water. It takes a while for that saturation to be handled, for Mother Nature to absorb water and move it out again to the sea.
"So we worry about that when a second storm or a third storm comes. And I hate to break it to people, but this next storm is not the last," Green said.
Floodwaters from Hurricane Lala killed two people on Hawaiʻi Island. Green told The Conversation that if the upcoming storm will impact the southern part of the Big Island again, his administration will try to secure hotel rooms across the county to move people there in advance.
The governor encouraged residents to look out for their neighbors.
"If your next-door neighbor, let's say you're living in, you know, single-family houses in a rural part of the state, Big Island or Hana or wherever, but if you have a couple very elderly neighbors, maybe have them come stay with you for the two days of the storm as it comes through," Green said.
"It always is about two days," he said. "Because then, if you have guest space, put them there, or at least be checking on them. Because just wandering out when there's two or three inches of rain per hour coming down is dangerous."
Green told The Conversation that a combined $5 million in relief funds had been donated by billionaires and part-time Hawaiʻi residents. Salesforce cofounder Marc Benioff donated $1 million, UNIQLO founder Tadashi Yanai donated $3 million, and Michael Dell of Dell Technologies gave $1 million.
While on The Conversation, Green made a push for other sources of firm power, like liquefied natural gas, to stabilize the grid.
"We're going to bring in some new energy partners to help work with, and I really mean this, with HECO, so we have extra resources and extra expertise," Green said. "That can be controversial because, in order to have firm power, it can't just be oil. That's why we talk about other things like LNG and geothermal. But if we do those things, places like Big Island, they'll be more secure. And ultimately, energy prices will be lower, too. So that's how I approach these things."
This story aired on The Conversation on Aug. 20, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jason Ubay adapted this story for the web.
