Hawaiian Islands Cannot Catch a Break - Another Major Storm on Deck

The stormy weather is back in the picture for Hawaii as the third Kona Low storm in as many weeks takes aim at the islands. Read on for the details of another major weather maker set to strike the normally tranquil part of the Pacific.

Third Kona Storm in as Many Weeks Tracking Into Hawaii

Yet another Kona Low storm is going to roar over parts of Hawaii this week, bringing more torrential rain, flooding, and mudslide threats to the battered islands. While the moisture will help to ease the ongoing drought conditions across the islands, it is hard to blame tourists for growing weary of the unseasonably wet and windy weather.

The atmosphere is currently reloading, preparing to deliver a fresh wave of drenching rainfall to the island chain in the days ahead. The rain will be heavy enough to present a renewed threat of flooding and mudslides.

The latest forecast models signal that the third Kona storm in three weeks will come together to the west of Hawaii, gradually moving to the east and over the islands. The storm's energy will work to pull in tropical moisture from the south, fueling the development of times of heavy rain and thunderstorms. The impacts are expected to hit areas of the islands that are usually sheltered from rain of this magnitude because of the northeasterly trade winds.

The first batch of precipitation is forecast to fire up late Tuesday. Forecasters are predicting that rainfall totals with this third Kona event will rival what the region picked up during the second storm that targeted the islands from March 19 - 22. That weather maker dumped 3 to 4 inches of rain across the capital city of Honolulu in Oahu.

The first storm of the trio was even worse, unleashing almost 10 inches of rain from March 10 - 15. The combined rainfall totals for those two storms came in at almost six times what Honolulu typically picks up during the month of March.

The back-to-back Kona storms in March did more than just deliver historic rainfall. The duo of storms also triggered life-threatening flash flooding that forced widespread evacuations. According to preliminary estimates, major infrastructure damage resulted in a total of about $2 billion in economic loss.

Although the islands have enjoyed a drier weather pattern since the last storm, meteorologists are warning that the ground is still quite wet. This means that runoff from the incoming Kona storm will happen quickly as the saturated ground struggles to keep up with the incoming moisture stream.

The height of the impacts is expected to unfold on Thursday night. Water levels in area streams and reservoirs will rise quickly, increasing the threat of levee failure by the end of the week.