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Tropical Storm Moke brings another foot of rain

August 23, 2026

Tropical Storm Moke is forecast to pass south of the Big Island, dropping heavy rain on ground already soaked by Lala's flooding and landslides.

NPR, citing NOAA, reports rainfall of more than a foot on the Big Island while it is still recovering from Lala. CBS News reports a forecast track carrying Moke's center south of that island on Sunday, then farther south of the smaller Hawaiian islands in the days after. Both accounts keep the storm offshore, so the risk they describe is water falling on ground Lala already saturated.

Rain totals are where the record splits. One account gives the Big Island a ceiling of 15 inches, with 3 to 6 inches on eastern Maui. Another puts 5 to 10 inches on the island and reserves 15 inches for its central and eastern slopes. The gap is substantive, not a matter of wording. One figure covers the whole island, the other only its wettest high ground, and on terrain Lala has already loosened that distinction changes what the number means.

CBS News reports that the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said Saturday that Gov. Josh Green had asked the White House for an emergency declaration from President Trump covering Lala and Moke, and NPR carries the same account. What is settled is the offshore track, the Big Island as the wettest ground, and the declaration request. What is not settled is the rain ceiling for the island as a whole.

Still developing

The rain expected to fall across the Big Island is carried differently from one account to the next. Parts of the account had not been carried across the coverage as of the draft.

How settled the reporting is

Reported 73% · Contested 20% · Developing 7%

Sources