Tropical Storm Moke and Hurricane Lala will likely be the most impactful back-to-back storms to have affected Hawaii within about a week's time in records since the mid-20th century.

Lala, then Moke

Last weekend, Hurricane Lala lashed the Big Island with up to 43 inches of rain and damaging winds, leading to destructive flooding and landslides that washed out roads and flooded some communities.

Tropical Storm Moke will then make its closest pass to Hawaii about a week after Lala, with more locally heavy rain possible, including the flood-ravaged Big Island.

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Both systems have been juiced by a rapidly strengthening El Niño, which often results in more active Central Pacific hurricane seasons.

This is a rarity for Hawaii

Poring through NOAA's database, we found only one other time since 1950 that Hawaii was affected by two tropical storms or hurricanes within a week's time.

That was 10 years ago.

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In 2016, Hurricane Madeline weakened to a tropical storm, then brushed south of the Big Island from August 31 to September 1. Just two days later, Hurricane Lester passed north of the islands from September 3-4.

But Madeline only triggered minor flooding on the Big Island with no significant property damage, and Lester's northward fly-by only triggered large swells along beaches, according to the National Hurricane Center's final reports.

So, given Lala's destruction and Moke's soaking potential, this one-two punch will be the most impactful two-some within a week in Hawaii's modern history.

What are the odds?

Hawaii's main islands together only cover about 6,400 square miles, smaller than New Jersey.

Furthermore, the Central Pacific Basin averages only 4 or 5 storms a year, about two-thirds less than an average Atlantic hurricane season. In many years, only 0, 1 or 2 storms have moved through that basin, according to the National Hurricane Center.

So, the odds were already small.

Prior to Lala and Moke, this twice in a week Hawaii impact had only happened once in 75 years, giving it only a 1.3% chance of happening in any year.

If you consider the average global lifespan of a human is about 74 years, you might consider this a once in a generation event.

Or maybe something you'll see as frequently as Halley's comet, last seen near Earth in 1986 and next up in 2061.

But this double punch also happened 10 years ago, as we mentioned earlier.

And just like the misleading "100-year flood" phrase, this likely doesn't mean we'll have to wait for the 22nd century for the next time this happens in Hawaii.

One mainland example

There have been several back-to-back storms cases within a few weeks' time for certain states in the U.S.

Among those were Helene and Milton in Florida in less than two weeks in 2024 as well as Frances and Jeanne also in Florida within three weeks in 2004.

But perhaps the most bizarre juxtaposition happened in 2020, when Hurricane Marco weakened, then fizzled off the Louisiana coast on August 24 and 25 after bringing some locally heavy rain and gusty winds to the northern Gulf Coast.

That was followed just two days later by devastating Category 4 Hurricane Laura, with over 15 feet of storm surge in southwest Louisiana and tied for the state's strongest landfall by wind speed.

This scenario lead to one of the most bizarre things I've seen in almost 30 years watching national weather, the crossing forecast cones of Laura and Marco.

The most exceptional back-to-back

Bermuda is a cluster of islands in the western Atlantic Ocean. But its total land area is only 21 square miles, 0.3% the size of Hawaii's main islands and about three-fifths the size of Manhattan.

Yet in mid-October 2014, they were slammed by two hurricanes in six days, first by Fay, then by Gonzalo. That hadn't happened to Bermuda before in reliable records.

And get this, each hurricane actually made landfall, meaning both Fay and Gonzalo's center moved over that tiny target in the vast North Atlantic Ocean.

Fay damaged the roof and flooded parts of Bermuda's only airport. Gonzalo downed numerous trees and power lines, and damaged some buildings. It took over two weeks to restore power to Bermuda after that double whammy.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.