As Big Islanders, especially in Ka‘u, clear fallen trees and power lines and shovel themselves out of mud, rocks and other debris deposited by the floodwaters of Hurricane Lala, some of its rainfall totals are reminiscent of Hurricane Lane, which drenched Mountain View with 50-plus inches in August 2018.

The heavy rainfall wasn’t confined to Ka‘u, however. Hilo International Airport received a record 6.82 inches on Saturday, which eclipsed the airport’s previous rainfall record for Aug. 15 of 5.1 inches set in 1969.

“It was a very heavy rainfall event, but there was a lot of wind damage, as well, with downed trees and power lines and things like that. It was unfortunate for the Big Island, getting the brunt of the rain and the wind,” Thomas Vaughan, a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Honolulu, told the Tribune-Herald on Tuesday.

Despite Saturday’s record rainfall, there are numerous Hawaii Island locations that received significantly more rain than the 14.38 inches the Hilo airport saw during the 72-hour period between 8 a.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Monday. Here are rainfall totals recorded during that period in numerous Big Island communities.

• Laupahoehoe, 42.53 inches. There are two official gauges in the North Hilo community, and the one operated by the University of Hawaii at Manoa recorded not only the most significant three-day total, it tallied 29.2 inches between 8 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday.

— Hakalau, 35.33 inches. The South Hilo hamlet was doused with 25.64 inches in the 24 hours ending 8 a.m. Sunday.

— Glenwood, 27.46 inches. The upper Puna rainforest village received 20.1 inches between 8 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday.

— Lower Kahuku, 25.45 inches. The home of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park’s Kahuku Unit the highest rainfal total among populated areas in Ka‘u.

— Pahala, 24.59 inches. Pahala absorbed a downpour of 23.66 inches in the 24-hours ending 8 a.m. Sunday, causing road and bridge damage and debris that isolated it from the rest of the island.

— Mountain View, 20.24 inches. The upper Puna village received 14.28 inches of that total between 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

— Honokaa, 15.94 inches. The Hamakua town received more than half that total, 8.53 inches, in the 24 hours prior to 8 a.m. Saturday.

— Ka Lae, also known as South Point, 14.51 inches. The normally arid area received more than a dozen inches between 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

— Kahua Ranch, 13.17 inches. Located on Kohala Mountain Road above Waimea, the ranch, like Honokaa, received the bulk of its rainfall, 9.03 inches, in the 24 hours prior to 8 a.m. Saturday.

— Waimea, 11.39 inches. The higher-elevation gauge in the South Kohala town where leeward and windward meet received 8 inches of rain between 8 a.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday.

— Puuanahulu, 4.14 inches. The North Kona village received almost all of its rain, 3.46 inches, in the 24 hours prior to 8 a.m. Saturday.

— Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole, 1.2 inches. That may not sound like much, but it represents the average total for the entire month of August.

Vaughan said forecasters aren’t surprised that the heaviest rainfall totals weren’t in Ka‘u, which was closest to the storm itself.

“As the hurricane passed just south of the Big Island, the heavy rain bands were extending farther out from the center,” he said. “That’s why we tell people not to focus on the center, because the effects can be felt farther out, especially with rainfall.

“We had those rain bands that kept kind of wrapping themselves around the east side of the Big Island and get stuck there, because the mountains block them from going past. It gets stuck on the terrain, so you just get these repeated rounds of heavy rain bands moving over east and southeast Big Island — which accounts for some of the heavier amounts that we saw in these areas.”

And while officials note that the heaviest damage came from flooding, not winds, there were some blustery gusts islandwide. The strongest, 84 mph, was recorded Saturday at Kohala Ranch, which is always windy because of its mountainous terrain. Other locations with severe wind gusts include: Ka Lae, 72 mph; Kona airport, 71 mph; Waikoloa, 66 mph; Kealakekua, 56 mph; and Hilo airport, 56 mph.

According to Vaughan, Lala’s path and intensity was what forecasters at the National Oceania and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center in Miami predicted.

“Their models were pretty good on this,” he said. “Originally, when the storm was farther out, they were forecasting the center of it to go over the Big Island. But as it got closer, they were forecasting it to go near or south of the Big Island, and that’s what happened.

“As far as intensity, they were pretty much spot on, with some brief intensification as it approached and came close south of the island, weakening as it went farther north and west.”

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Lala was a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph and was well west of the main Hawaiian Islands. A hurricane warning has been issued for the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, including the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Email John Burnett at john.burnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.