Hurricane Nolo Threatens 'Catastrophic' Flooding as Hawaii Faces Third Major Storm in Months

The estate's monitoring instrument flagged an 80-knot storm at 16.7, -156.0 — coordinates that place it just south of Hawaii's Big Island, matching the reported position of Hurricane Nolo as it approached the islands on 25 September, according to [1]. Forecasters warned the storm would bring potentially life-threatening and catastrophic flooding, with rainfall of up to 25 inches expected along with large, damaging waves, according to [1]. The US National Hurricane Center said the rainfall "could produce catastrophic life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," according to [1]. Hawaii authorities responded by activating more than 230 national guard members and closing schools ahead of the storm, according to [1]. As of Friday morning the storm was just over 200 miles south of the Big Island, expected to bring tropical storm conditions by evening before strengthening into a major hurricane on Saturday, according to [1]. It was then forecast to track west on Saturday without making a direct hit on the islands, according to [1]. The storm is hitting communities that have not recovered from earlier disasters this year. Nolo is forecast to bring its heaviest rain to an area already devastated by Hurricane Lala in August, where some residents remain displaced, according to [1]. "We're slowly starting to rebuild, but now it's almost like if this storm hits, it'll smash us back down," Troy Gacayan, a high school teacher and pastor in one of the affected communities, told Honolulu Civil Beat, according to [1]. Nolo is the third major tropical storm to menace Hawaii in recent months, following Hurricanes Lala in August and Lowell in early September, which flooded homes, downed trees and knocked out power lines across the islands, according to [2]. More than 500 homes have already been damaged or destroyed this year, according to [2]. Hawaii's governor, Josh Green, has requested an emergency disaster declaration for four counties to unlock federal funds, a request that was still awaiting approval from Donald Trump as of the reporting, according to [1]. Scientists attribute the unusual clustering of storms to a strengthening El Niño, which is warming sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific and pushing hurricane formation further south and west — putting Hawaii more directly in the path of storms that would normally weaken over cooler waters further east, according to [2]. Matthew Rosencrans of NOAA said this pattern "puts them in a place where they could make that westward run towards the Hawaiian islands," according to [2]. Hawaii has not suffered a direct hurricane landfall since Hurricane Iniki in 1992, which destroyed or damaged roughly 70% of homes and businesses on Kauai, according to [2]. Climate scientist Dr Marc Alessi noted that oceans are absorbing the vast majority of excess heat trapped by pollution, adding energy to the system at a rate he compared to roughly 12 Hiroshima bombs per second over the past year, according to [2]. Hawaii senator Brian Schatz told Congress this week that "there is a reason these destructive disasters are piling up one after another, leaving communities exhausted and governments depleted. It is the warming planet," according to [1]. What to watch next: whether Nolo's track holds west of the islands as forecast rather than curving closer, and whether Trump approves Governor Green's federal disaster declaration request for the four affected counties.