Hawaii Travel Could Be Upended Again This Weekend

Hawaii residents and visitors barely had time to get past Lala before the same question came roaring back: how much do you change when another storm appears already headed towards the islands later this week?

For us, that answer changed again this morning. We had rebuilt our Maui reporting trip after last weekend’s disruption and were supposed to leave again today, but Tropical Depression Two-C is now strengthening southeast of Hawaii with heavy rain, flooding, wind and wave impacts possible across the islands this weekend. We decided not to go.

What makes this especially unsettling is just how familiar it looks. On the surface, the storm’s setup bears an eerie resemblance to last weekend, while parts of the Big Island are still dealing with Lala’s flooding and damage. Residents are watching another threat approach, visitors are again wondering what happens to their plans, and we’re doing the same from Kauai.

Lala changed the way we’re looking at this trip.

Last week’s Maui trip was disrupted before Lala began canceling Hawaii flights across the state. A flight we were booked on disappeared from sale before Alaska acknowledged it would not operate, and the eventual cancellation led to several days of changes involving flights, lodging, activities, and reservations.

As we learned while trying to salvage our Maui trip after Lala, most Hawaii businesses we dealt with were extremely accommodating. Alaska Airlines was far harder to reach, and when seats on later flights began disappearing while we waited for a callback, we ultimately spent another $140 to protect the trip.

Those were travel problems, and we don’t equate them with what Lala did to people who lost homes, roads, power, access to their communities, and worse. The Big Island in particular is still recovering from serious flooding and damage, which makes the possibility of another round of heavy rain so soon especially worrisome. We eventually decided to go later in the week before this current storm was even formed.

After changing this trip repeatedly because of Lala, we were once again looking at our reservations and asking whether getting on a plane was still the sensible thing to do. And, after looking at what we know and what we still don’t know, we decided it wasn’t. We canceled today’s Maui departure.

The decision wasn’t based on a hurricane warning, because there isn’t one. It was based on the accumulation of uncertainty. We would be leaving Kauai and our home while another system moves toward the islands and, at the same time, trying to spend a week on Maui doing reporting that could itself become difficult or impossible if the weather deteriorates, as is now predicted.

More importantly, forecasters say it could strengthen significantly as it approaches Hawaii in the coming days. It’s still too early to know exactly where it will go or what wind, rain, or ocean impacts it might bring.

After Lala, we know just how quickly things can change before a storm ever gets close. For us, that was enough this morning to make a different travel decision.

Hawaii is still dealing with the last one.

The Big Island’s roads, parks, ocean conditions and visitor areas have not all returned to normal at the same pace. That in part is what makes the timing of this new system so challenging. One storm has barely cleared the state, and another is already getting serious attention from residents, visitors, and forecasters.

We’re still going to Maui, just not today. After everything that’s happened over the past week, leaving Kauai this morning simply didn’t feel like the right decision.

Maui reporting will still be there when this passes. And for now, so will we.

By Rob and Jeff, Beat of Hawaii.

Some of the most meaningful parts of Hawaii are the ones visitors walk right past without knowing they are there. We’ve spent nearly 20 years finding them firsthand for BOH as full-time Hawaii residents reporting on travel, culture, and island life, and telling you what they mean for your trip. Join us →