Norbert may raise flood risk in Hawaii after deadly hurricane summer
Tropical Rainstorm Norbert will boost showers and the risk of localized flooding in Hawaii amid a summer marked by deadly and destructive impacts from hurricanes Lala and Lowell.
While storms in the Atlantic are fighting to have even a chance at strengthening, we’re moving into the second half of the alphabet for storm names in the Pacific this week.
It has been an unusually active hurricane season near Hawaii, with multiple storms passing close to the islands and at least two causing fatalities and significant damage. Tropical Rainstorm Norbert could become the latest system to affect the state as its moisture moves in from the east.
As of Tuesday, Hawaii time, Norbert had lost tropical organization, about 780 miles to the east of Hilo, Hawaii.
“Norbert's moisture will continue to drift west through the end of the week as a broadening area of showers and thunderstorms,” AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said. “Late this week, we expect Norbert's moisture to enhance trade wind showers over portions of the Hawaiian Islands, which could lead to localized flooding.”
Heavy rainfall could trigger flash flooding, mudslides and additional washouts, especially where drainage systems remain damaged or clogged. As Norbert’s moisture moves through the islands, some thunderstorms could produce locally strong wind gusts. Rough surf may also develop along exposed shores.
“Some squally showers and thunderstorms could produce wind gusts of 20-30 mph,” DaSilva said. A few waterspouts could also develop.
Norbert is the seventh tropical storm or hurricane this summer to pass within several hundred miles of the Hawaiian Islands or send moisture into the state.
“Of the multiple tropical cyclones that have ventured into Hawaii’s neighborhood, two brought direct impacts to the islands,” DaSilva said. Those were the two ‘L’ storms: Lala and Lowell.
Lala formed in the central Pacific and received the next name on the Central Pacific naming list. Lowell, like most of the other nearby storms this season, formed in the eastern Pacific and was named from that basin’s list.
Lala strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane as it passed near South Point on the Big Island. After moving away from Hawaii, Lala restrengthened and eventually peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph.
Lala was blamed for two direct deaths and one indirect fatality. The storm brought torrential rain and significant flash flooding to several islands. Laupāhoehoe on the Big Island recorded 43.42 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Floodwaters swept away homes and destroyed bridges and roads, while strong winds toppled trees and caused widespread power outages.
People walk through a field of debris after Hurricane Lala in Naalehu, Hawaii, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026. The Category 1 hurricane brought heavy rain and strong winds to the island of Hawaii before moving away without making landfall, causing extensive damage to towns along the island's southern end. (Photo by Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Lowell became the strongest hurricane of the 2026 eastern and central Pacific seasons to date when its maximum sustained winds reached 160 mph on Sept. 2, while it was less than 450 miles south-southeast of Hilo. Several days later, the hurricane made a sharp northward turn reminiscent of Hurricane Iniki’s turn in 1992. Lowell passed about 40 miles west of Niʻihau on the night of Sept. 7, Hawaii time.
Lowell was blamed for two deaths: one involving a falling tree on Oahu and another caused by coastal flooding on Kauai. The hurricane caused significant damage across the western Hawaiian Islands, especially Kauai and Niʻihau, through destructive waves, coastal inundation, hurricane-force wind gusts and freshwater flooding.
People walk past damage caused by Hurricane Lowell on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Poʻipū on Kauaʻi's south shore, in Hawaii. (Guy Miller with smartphone/Honolulu Civil Beat via AP)
Tropical storms and hurricanes rarely pass close to Hawaii’s main islands after September.
“Only four tropical cyclones on record have passed within 100 miles of Hawaii’s main islands during October, November or December: one tropical depression and three hurricanes,” DaSilva said.
On average, fewer than one tropical system per year passes within 100 miles of Hawaii’s main islands, and many years have no such close approaches. Only two hurricanes—Dot in 1959 and Iniki in 1992—have made landfall in Hawaii in the modern historical record.
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