Hurricane Nolo threatens Hawaii with catastrophic flooding

Hurricane Nolo is strengthening south of Hawaii, threatening the Big Island with nearly 3 feet of rain and what forecasters warn could be “catastrophic life-threatening flooding and mudslides.” The storm’s center is expected to stay well south of the main Hawaiian Islands, but its slow movement could leave heavy rain over vulnerable areas for an extended period.

Hawaii County was under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning Friday morning. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Maui County. The National Hurricane Center said tropical storm conditions were expected to begin in Hawaii County by Friday night, with hurricane conditions possible by early Saturday, particularly in steep terrain. Tropical storm conditions could reach Maui County on Saturday.

Nolo had maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph Friday morning, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 40 miles from its center and tropical-storm-force winds reaching up to 105 miles, according to CBS News. The hurricane center expected Nolo to become a major hurricane Saturday. NPR reported that the storm was moving at just 5 mph and that forecast winds could peak at 140 mph over the next 72 hours, making it a Category 4 hurricane.

The greatest rainfall threat is to eastern and southern parts of the Big Island, where forecasters expect 15 to 30 inches and say isolated areas could receive 35 inches. “This rainfall could produce catastrophic life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” the hurricane center said.

Western parts of the Big Island could receive 5 to 8 inches, with up to 10 inches in some places. Maui could see 4 to 8 inches, with localized totals as high as 15 inches. Those amounts could also cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, particularly on steep slopes. Elsewhere in Hawaii, 1 to 3 inches is expected, with as much as 6 inches in some spots, potentially causing isolated flooding, according to CBS News.

NPR reported that Nolo was moving north-northeast Friday and was expected to slow further before turning west and gaining speed over the weekend. Earlier in the week, the storm had been traveling west over open water before making an abrupt turn toward the Big Island. NPR also reported that forecasters had stopped issuing updates on the weakening system last week, then resumed advisories after it regenerated and strengthened from a tropical depression into a hurricane.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources announced closures of all state parks on the Big Island on Thursday and on Maui on Friday because of the storm, CBS News reported.

Nolo is approaching during an active Pacific storm season. CBS News reported that Hurricane Lowell brought damaging winds and heavy rain to Kauai and Niihau earlier this month, downing trees, damaging roads and cutting power to thousands. The outlet said Hurricane Lala washed away about 100 homes and caused landslides and widespread outages last month as it passed Hawaii. Another storm, Hurricane Polo, was swirling off Mexico’s southwestern coast as Nolo approached.