FirstAlerts

Tropical Storm Lala Approaches Hawaii Amid Conflicting Reports on Position and Wind Speed

News outlets report varying figures for the location, sustained winds, and movement of Tropical Storm Lala.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 15, 2026, 6:35 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 15, 2026, 1:24 p.m. ET
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More on this incident

Reporting from spokesman.com and The Maui News states that advisory figures for were issued at 11:00 a.m. HST on Aug. 14, 2026. In the same breath, CNBC dated its report Aug. 14, 2026; Forbes reported information issued at 2:00 a.m. HST; and The Sydney Morning Herald carried figures dated Aug. 15, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Australian eastern time. Outlets disagree on the location of . Outlets including KSAT, WDIO, WRAL, ClickOnDetroit, WDBO, Newsday, CNBC, DW, the Times of Oman, and Butler Eagle placed the storm . CityNews Toronto, WSLS, WSB Radio, and The News International reported it about 340 miles (545 kilometers) east-southeast of South Point; The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, the Brisbane Times, and WAtoday reported it about 380 kilometres east-south-east of South Point and 710 kilometres from Honolulu; CBS News reported it ; spokesman.com reported it about 535 miles east-southeast of Honolulu; The Maui News reported it ; and Hawaii Public Radio reported it . Estimates of sustained wind speeds also conflict across sources. KSAT, WDIO, WRAL, ClickOnDetroit, WDBO, Butler Eagle, Newsday, CNBC, DW, and the Times of Oman reported sustained winds of 65 mph. Forbes, the Daily Mail, CBS News, One America News Network, CityNews Toronto, WSLS, WSB Radio, spokesman.com, The Maui News, and The News International reported 60 mph. The Manila Times reported 50 mph, while Australian outlets including The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, the Brisbane Times, and WAtoday reported winds of 100 km/h. Reports on the storm's movement similarly vary. CityNews Toronto, WSLS, KSAT, WRAL, ClickOnDetroit, WDBO, Newsday, CNBC, Butler Eagle, spokesman.com, The Maui News, WSB Radio, and WDIO reported movement toward the . DW and the Times of Oman reported movement toward the west-northwest at 14 miles per hour, while The News International reported west-northwest at 14 mph; Australian outlets reported movement towards the west-north-west at 19 km/h; Hawaii News Now reported ; CBS News reported west-northwest at 12 mph; One America News Network reported west-northwest at approximately 12 to 14 mph; Forbes reported ; and Hawaii Public Radio reported movement toward the .

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Revision history

  1. Version 2515 Aug 2026, 17:24current

    Updated story phrasing to streamlined paragraphs while preserving all sourced conflicting figures and required attributions.

  2. Version 2415 Aug 2026, 14:27

    No new verified facts; added the Times of Oman to the position and movement attributions and tightened wording on the unresolved wind-speed range.

  3. Version 2315 Aug 2026, 12:48

    Added headline and dek and labelled the Aug. 14 11:00 a.m. HST timestamp as the best-supported issuance figure; figures otherwise unchanged.

  4. Version 2215 Aug 2026, 12:27

    Added CNBC and DW attributions to the issued-time, position, wind-speed and movement figures, and The News International's 340-mile position.

  5. Version 2115 Aug 2026, 08:57

    Added The News International to the 60 mph and 14 mph movement attributions and WAtoday to the 100 km/h and 19 km/h attributions; no figures changed.

  6. Version 2015 Aug 2026, 07:27

    No new facts in the verified record; added The Straits Times and The News International to the list of outlets identifying the system as Tropical Storm Lala.

  7. Version 1915 Aug 2026, 05:26

    Added the Brisbane Times to the outlets listed as reporting the position, wind and movement figures; figures themselves unchanged.

  8. Version 1815 Aug 2026, 04:09

    Added the figures carried by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald — a 380 km position, 100 km/h winds, 19 km/h movement and an Aug. 15 issue time — to each of the conflicting ranges.

  9. Version 1715 Aug 2026, 03:27

    Added The Maui News to the issue-time, wind and movement attributions and its latitude 17.2 north, longitude 150.9 west position to the conflicting-position list.

  10. Version 1615 Aug 2026, 02:54

    Added Newsday to the attribution lists for the storm's position, 65 mph wind figure and forward motion.

  11. Version 1515 Aug 2026, 02:19

    No new verified facts; added the Jamaica Observer to the outlets identifying the storm as Tropical Storm Lala and tightened wording.

  12. Version 1415 Aug 2026, 01:38

    Added Butler Eagle's attribution to the position, wind speed and movement figures, and added a headline and dek with the date and figure ranges.

  13. Version 1315 Aug 2026, 01:23

    Added WDBO to the outlets supporting the 275-mile position, the 14 mph west-northwest movement and the 65 mph wind figure.

  14. Version 1215 Aug 2026, 01:14

    The best-supported position is now 275 miles east-southeast of South Point (KSAT, WDIO, WRAL, ClickOnDetroit) rather than 340 miles, and WRAL and ClickOnDetroit are added to the wind and movement attributions.

  15. Version 1115 Aug 2026, 00:54

    Added the unresolved issue-time conflict (Aug. 14, 11:00 a.m. HST per spokesman.com vs. 2:00 a.m. HST per Forbes) and folded in spokesman.com and WDIO figures for position, winds and movement.

  16. Version 1015 Aug 2026, 00:38

    Added KSAT's conflicting figures for position (275 miles), sustained winds (65 mph) and forward speed.

  17. Version 914 Aug 2026, 23:43

    Added WSB Radio to the outlets reporting the 340-mile position, 60 mph winds and 14 mph forward speed.

  18. Version 814 Aug 2026, 23:39

    Added the best-supported position (340 miles east-southeast of South Point, per CityNews Toronto and WSLS) and forward speed (14 mph), and credited CityNews Toronto and WSLS on the 60 mph wind figure.

  19. Version 714 Aug 2026, 23:08

    Added One America News Network to the 60 mph wind attribution and its 12–14 mph movement figure to the range of conflicting motion reports.

  20. Version 614 Aug 2026, 21:54

    Added The Manila Times' competing sustained-wind figure of 50 mph alongside the 60 mph reported by Forbes, CBS News and the Daily Mail, and added that outlet to the storm-identification list.

  21. Version 514 Aug 2026, 18:24

    Added CBS News position (365 miles ESE of Hilo, 580 miles ESE of Honolulu) and movement (12 mph west-northwest) as additional conflicting accounts, and credited CBS with the 60 mph wind figure.

  22. Version 414 Aug 2026, 15:40

    Added the Daily Mail as a second source for the 60 mph sustained winds and the storm's name and type.

  23. Version 314 Aug 2026, 14:09

    Added Forbes-reported 60 mph sustained winds and the 2:00 a.m. HST issue time, and noted the conflict between Forbes and Hawaii Public Radio on the storm's movement.

  24. Version 214 Aug 2026, 08:23

    Removed the flagged closing boilerplate about future updates and every other forward-looking construction, so no sentence in the piece is cast in the future tense. Replaced it with an explicit statement that the record contains one reported position and heading and no track or intensity projection, plus the caveat that intensity forecasts are least reliable just before a system nears a coast. Fixed the garbled dek, which had said the broadcaster "placed the system west of its reported position"; it now states the reported distance and heading as attributed. Added a line directing readers to the National Weather Service and county emergency officials for warnings, since this report carries none. No facts added beyond the fact set; the storm name, type, position wording ("about 600 miles off the coast of Hilo") and movement are printed as given, with attribution to Hawaii Public Radio and The Maui News retained.

  25. Version 114 Aug 2026, 07:52current

    First published.

  26. Version 114 Aug 2026, 07:52

    First published.

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