Hurricane Nolo Stalls South of Big Island, Threatens 'Catastrophic' Flooding

Hurricane Nolo was sitting nearly stationary roughly 150 miles south-southeast of South Point, Hawaii, as of 8pm HST Friday, with maximum sustained winds of 105mph and a minimum central pressure of 975mb, according to the National Hurricane Center's public advisory [1]. That places the storm at Category 2 strength, though forecasters expect it to become a major hurricane over the weekend and potentially intensify further into early next week [1][2]. The estate's own instruments picked up Nolo at 90 knots near 16.9N, 155.2W — coordinates that match the NHC's fix almost exactly, confirming the trigger reflects the storm's actual position and intensity rather than a stray or duplicate signal [1]. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Hawaii County, alongside a Tropical Storm Warning for the same county and a Tropical Storm Watch for Maui County, with no changes to that alert picture in the latest advisory [1]. The NHC's forecast track keeps Nolo's centre well south of the main Hawaiian Islands, and forecasters do not expect a direct landfall this weekend [1][2]. The danger is instead rainfall and surge. The NHC is forecasting 8 to 12 inches of rain for the eastern and southern Big Island, with isolated totals up to 16 inches, and 4 to 6 inches for eastern Maui, with isolated totals to 8 inches — rain the advisory says "could produce significant, life-threatening flooding and mudslides," particularly on steep terrain [1]. NPR reports NHC officials framing totals more starkly still, warning some areas could see over two feet of rain and describing the flooding risk as potentially "catastrophic" [2]. Storm surge of 1 to 3 feet above ground is possible along Hawaii County's coast if the peak coincides with high tide [1]. Nolo's track has been erratic: it reversed an abrupt westward course to turn north toward the Big Island earlier in the week, and just last week forecasters had declared the precursor system dissipating before it regenerated into Tropical Depression Fifteen-E and then intensified rapidly [2]. As of Friday afternoon it was moving at only 5mph, essentially crawling, with turn-and-acceleration toward the west forecast for Saturday and Sunday [1][2]. Hawaii and Maui counties have opened shelters, and schools and government offices began closing Thursday ahead of the storm, according to Hawaii Public Radio as cited by NPR [2]. The timing compounds an already difficult year for the islands: Governor Josh Green said this week that four separate disasters — a March "Kona low" flooding event, a May magnitude-6.0 earthquake, and Hurricanes Lala and Lowell in August and September — have damaged or destroyed about 1,290 homes, with recovery costs estimated at roughly $1 billion before Nolo's arrival [2]. Nolo is also one of three hurricanes active in the Pacific basin at once, alongside Odalys and the more easterly Polo, which is separately threatening Mexico's Baja California Sur [2]. None of the reporting material here shows any anomaly, conflict, or instruction embedded in the source text — this is a straightforward, confirmed weather event matching the estate's trigger. What to watch next: the NHC's forecast for further intensification toward Category 4 strength over the next 72 hours, and whether Nolo's westward turn this weekend keeps its heaviest rain bands over the Big Island's steep southern and eastern terrain.