Hurricane Nolo skirts Hawaii but could still unleash powerful winds, flash flooding

HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Hurricane Nolo just skirted the Hawaiian Islands as it gained intensity on Saturday, but officials said it still posed a risk for flash floods, dangerous winds and extreme surf in areas recovering from previous storms.

Nolo was churning very slowly south of the Big Island with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph). Its center was about 165 miles (266 kilometers) south-southwest of Hawaii’s southernmost point and it was forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane late Sunday and early Monday while traveling westward to the south of the islands.

A hurricane watch was canceled and direct landfall by the storm’s center was not expected. But forecasters said its outer bands could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Big Island expected to see rainfall totals up to 20 inches (51 centimeters). Heavy rain also was expected on the other islands.

“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,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center.

Heavy rain continued to fall across the southern part of the Big Island in the afternoon, leading to partial closures of one of the main highways connecting Kailua-Kona in the west to Hilo in the east.

Near the community of Naalehu on the island’s southern point, National Guard members were seen guiding a man who was driving across flooded streets as he tried to leave his home in the heavy downpour. More than 120 guard members were activated on the island, part of roughly 400 statewide after the governor issued an emergency proclamation.

The humanitarian nonprofit group CORE and other partners spent the week packing and shipping supplies like camp stoves and hygiene products by air cargo from Oahu to the Big Island for a community relief hub that has been active since August’s Hurricane Lala.

Residents are still recovering from Lala, which produced heavy rain and winds strong enough to sweep about 100 homes off their foundations on the Big Island.

Hawaii prepares for northern edge of Nolo

About a dozen people were in the water Saturday morning at Carlsmith Beach Park in Hilo on the Big Island, despite signs saying the strand was closed. Andrea Gill was out for her regular swim before heading back home to hunker down with family.

Shop owners boarded up businesses, and events were canceled. Gill said storms are common, but hurricanes are rare. She was holding out hope that the islands might not get the full impact.

“We’re used to lots of rain. We’re not used to wind. So it’s always a blessing when we don’t get the wind from the hurricane,” Gill said.

President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration Friday, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate assistance and provide funding support.

Hawaiian Electric, the state’s primary utility, said crews helping restore power in Kauai after this month’s Hurricane Lowell returned to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island in response to the storm.

On Maui, a brush fire broke out on the west side of the island Saturday, prompting mandatory evacuations for some residents and shutting down parts of a highway. The fire was burning near the Olowalu area, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) south of Lahaina, the site of the 2023 deadly fires. County officials set up two evacuation centers to the north and south of the fire.

The weather service issued a high wind warning for parts of Maui Saturday evening, meaning winds could be at least 40 mph (64 kph) with gusts over 60 mph (97 kph).

The Pacific has been unusually active this season, according to National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Oravec, with storm activity running above average during what is already the peak of hurricane season. He said that pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.

Powerful Polo on forecast path toward Mexico

Meanwhile Mexico was under the threat of Hurricane Polo as it headed toward the Baja California Peninsula after bringing storm conditions to the southwestern coast. Polo had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph), making it a Category 4 storm, but it was expected to weaken somewhat before making landfall Monday.

One of the towns in the hurricane’s projected path is San Juanico, a small fishing community on Baja’s Pacific coast where access to basic needs is already fickle.

“Our people are concerned about this event,” said Gloriely Robles Meza, a manager at a small hotel. “We haven’t faced such a worrying situation in many years.”

The town has only had full-time electricity for a couple of years, and it still experiences frequent outages. Without power, residents can’t refrigerate food or pump water. The closest gas station is so far away that fuel is stored in and sold from tanks, and supply frequently runs out if there is high demand.

Robles Meza said the community feels left to brace itself for the storm without the help of authorities.

“We must prepare on our own — each of us protecting our homes and belongings,” she said, adding that she wished officials would preposition heavy machinery for clearing roads, along with emergency generators.

For now, she said, the only plan is to convert the local elementary school into a shelter.

“While this is important, we also have other impacts to consider,” Robles Meza said, like what the town will do if it is cut off from help.

San Juanico has experienced late-summer storms, but Polo feels different, said Jeffrey Westman, an American who was first drawn to the town’s world-class surf break 40 years ago and owns a property there.

Washed-out roads could block access to the closest medical facility, about 80 minutes away in Ciudad Constitucion.

Westman, 63, said he hopes Polo behaves as some past storms have, losing intensity before reaching the peninsula.

“A lot of times they do start petering out,” he said. “I’m hoping that’s the case.”

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Associated Press writers Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego, California, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Midway, Utah, contributed.