Forecasters warned of life-threatening flooding on the Big Island as Hurricane Nolo approached, while Hurricane Polo moved toward Baja California.
Residents on Hawaii’s Big Island braced Friday for potentially life-threatening flooding as Hurricane Nolo moved toward the island chain, bringing heavy rain and tropical storm conditions.
Nolo was about 185 miles south of the Big Island on Friday morning, moving northeast with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Forecasters expected tropical storm conditions to reach land by Friday evening. The storm is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane on Saturday, but turn west and avoid directly hitting the islands.
Eastern and southern parts of the Big Island could receive 10 to 15 inches of rain, with up to 25 inches in some spots, alongside wind gusts reaching 50 mph. The heaviest rain is projected over the island’s southeastern region, which was hit by Hurricane Lala in August. The hurricane center warned that Maui and other islands could also see heavy rainfall, flooding and mudslides, while storm surges of 1 to 3 feet could create dangerous waves along the coast.
Preparing on the Big Island
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation, activating more than 230 Hawaii National Guard members, and requested an emergency disaster declaration for four counties. Schools were closed across the area, while local officials opened shelters and made sand available for sandbags.
Hawaiian Electric sent crews that had been restoring power on Kauai after Hurricane Lowell back to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.
“People are going to want to kind of shelter in place on the Big Island, be in their safe place, certainly by later today, tonight, well into Saturday,” National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said Friday. “Don’t venture out if you don’t have to into the dangerous flooding environment, but also high winds. We can have trees and power lines down.”
Storm conditions in Mexico
To the east, Hurricane Polo sustained winds of 180 mph off Mexico’s coast Friday morning. While the storm’s center stayed far out over the ocean moving west, forecasters projected it would turn north and strike the Baja California Peninsula late Sunday into Monday.
No major damage or flooding was reported overnight into Friday along the Mexican coast, though seawater swept through homes and left streets covered in mud in the port city of Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán. Mexican authorities opened shelters, cleared beaches and deployed 15,000 security personnel. Forecasters said moisture from Polo could bring scattered flash flooding to parts of Arizona and New Mexico by Monday.
