Tropical Storm Lala was moving away from Hawaii on Monday. At 11:00 a.m. EDT on Monday the center of Tropical Storm Lala was located at latitude 20.4°N and longitude 163.4°W which put the center about 360 miles (580 km) west-southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Lala was moving toward the west at 12 m.p.h. (19 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 75 m.p.h. (120 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 997 mb.
Over 113,000 customers in Hawaii were without electricity on Monday morning because of the damage caused by Tropical Storm Lala. Bridges were washed out and some roads were impassible on the Big Island of Hawaii.
The circulation around Tropical Storm Lala was still well organized on Monday. New thunderstorms were forming near the center of Lala’s circulation. Thunderstorms were also developing in the inner sections of rainbands that were revolving around the center of Tropical Storm Lala. The outer portions of the rainbands consisted primarily of showers and lower clouds. Storms near the center of Lala generated upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the tropical storm. The removal of mass in the upper levels was nearly equal to the convergence of mass in the lower levels of the atmosphere. So, the surface pressure was not changing much.
The circulation around Tropical Storm Lala was a little smaller and more symmetrical on Monday morning. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 105 miles (165 km) from the center of Lala’s circulation.
Tropical Storm Lala will move through an environment that will be unfavorable for intensification during the next 24 hours. Lala will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 27°C. It will move under the middle of an upper level ridge that is west of Hawaii. The upper level winds are weak near the middle of the ridge and there will be little vertical wind shear. However, Tropical Storm Lala will continue to move into a region of drier air that is also west of Hawaii. Tropical Storm Lala is likely to maintain its intensity during the next 24 hours because of the effects of the drier air.
Tropical Storm Lala will move around the southern part of a high pressure system that is over the Central North Pacific Ocean. The high pressure system will steer Lala toward the west during the next 24 hours. On its anticipated track, the center of Tropical Storm Lala will continue to move farther away from Hawaii.