Moke nears Hawaii; Big Island expected to get hit hardest - again

Hawaii is bracing for another round of severe weather as Tropical Storm Moke spins its way toward the Big Island, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to an area still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Lala. 

Big picture view:

The storm, which formed on Friday, was about 425 miles southeast of Hilo as of midday Saturday and was moving at about 12 miles an hour, the National Hurricane Center reported. The agency estimated that winds were blowing at approximately 50 miles per hour. 

Timeline:

Like Lala, Moke is expected to hit the Big Island the hardest. Residents will be spared from a direct hit, though, as the storm winds its way south of the island late Saturday and into Sunday morning. From there, Moke will likely continue west, staying close to the islands into Tuesday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Casey Oswant predicted. 

What they're saying:

"There will still be impacts, especially to the windward and southeast sides of the Big Island, but it will probably be a little bit more limited than what we saw with Lala," he said.

What's next:

The southeast and windward sides of the Big Island are expected to get between five and ten inches of rain over the course of the weekend, while some areas may see up to 15 inches, Oswant said. The rest of the island will likely see one to two inches, but Maui may see up to four. So far, there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Dig deeper:

For comparison, the northeast coast of the Big Island received 43.54 inches of rain from Lala, the NWS reported. Eight thousand customers remain without power, poweroutage.us reports. In a news conference ahead of Moke’s arrival, Gov. Josh Green and other state officials urged residents to take the opportunity to restock on food, medicine, and other essentials.

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