Hawaii Closes Big Island Schools and Courts as Nolo Heads Toward Hurricane Strength
Forecasters say Nolo could become a major hurricane near the Big Island by Saturday and dump up to 35 inches of rain on ground already soaked by Hurricanes Lala and Lowell.
The National Weather Service put Hawaii County under a tropical storm warning Thursday as Tropical Storm Nolo strengthened south of the islands, and forecasters said it could become the strongest storm to pass that close to the Big Island in nearly 70 years.
As of 11 a.m. Hawaii time, Nolo's top sustained winds had climbed to 70 mph, up from 60 mph six hours earlier, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. The storm sat about 285 miles south of South Point and 455 miles south-southeast of Honolulu and had started creeping north at 2 mph after stalling overnight. Forecasters expect it to become a hurricane Thursday night and a major hurricane, Category 3 or stronger, as it nears the Big Island on Saturday. Tropical-storm conditions could start there late Friday, with hurricane conditions possible by early Saturday.
Rain is the biggest fear. The hurricane center raised its forecast for the Big Island to 15 to 30 inches of rain, with isolated totals of 35 inches possible, and flood watches cover the island and parts of Maui County. The National Hurricane Center warned of life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides on the Big Island and Maui. A weather service statement for the Kona area said the wind threat "has increased from the previous assessment" and told residents to prepare for winds equal to a Category 3 hurricane or higher.
"Today is really the last dry day you have to get ready," weather service meteorologist John Bravender said at a news conference Wednesday. Gov. Josh Green closed state and county offices, public schools and University of Hawaii campuses on the Big Island on Thursday and Friday, and the closures extend to Maui County on Friday. State courts on the Big Island are closed both days, and courts on Maui, Molokai and Lanai are closed Friday. In Hilo, county crews dumped sand at the Wong Stadium parking lot and residents lined up to fill sandbags.
The track is still uncertain. Nolo is expected to turn sharply north toward the Big Island and then bend west on Friday or Saturday. The Weather Channel said recent computer models pulled the track farther south, which could keep the worst of the storm offshore. But forecasters stressed that heavy rain, strong wind and big surf will reach the islands whether or not the center comes ashore. They expect a storm surge of 1 to 3 feet around the Big Island. Only one other major hurricane on record, Hurricane Dot in August 1959, has passed within 150 miles of the Big Island.
Nolo is the fourth tropical system to threaten Hawaii this season, and it is arriving before the state has finished cleaning up from the last ones. Hurricane Lala hit the Big Island and Maui hard in August, and some areas only recently got power back. Hurricane Lowell hit Kauai earlier this month. Green said the state has already tallied about $686 million in damage and recovery costs from this year's disasters, which include two Kona-low storms in March, a magnitude-6.0 earthquake on the Big Island in May and the two hurricanes. With about $319 million in planned resilience projects, the total tops $1 billion. He said the state expects to draw about $300 million from its $1.649 billion rainy day fund while it waits for federal aid and insurance payments.
