New tropical depression forms southeast of Hawaii

News admin August 20, 2026 0 Comments

New tropical depression forms southeast of Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A disturbance to the southeast of Hawaii has now become Tropical Depression Two-C.

The newly-formed tropical cyclone is expected to follow a path further south than Hurricane Lala, but could still bring the threat of more flooding rain and strong winds, especially for the hard-hit island of Hawaii.

At 5 a.m. Thursday, Two-C was located about 960 miles east-southeast of Hilo and was moving to the west-northwest at 16 miles per hour.

The tropical depression had maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour with higher gusts. It is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm later Thursday; when it does, it will get the Hawaiian name “Moke.”

Potential threats

Rain

The tropical depression is expected to produce rainfall totals of 5 to 10 inches with maximum amounts of 15 inches across Hawaii Island. This rainfall could cause dangerous flooding in areas already saturated by the catastrophic rainfall from Hurricane Lala.

Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches with maximum amounts of 5 inches are expected across the remainder of the Hawaiian Islands this weekend and early next week.

This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain and over areas that were affected recently by Lala.

Surf

Swells generated by the depression are expected to affect portions of the Hawaiian Islands ths weekend, and could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.