Hurricane Nolo expected to bring heavy rain as it skirts Hawaii’s Big Island

NAALEHU, Hawaii — Hurricane Nolo is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane in the Pacific Ocean over the weekend, unleashing intense rain, the possibility of life-threatening flash flooding, and dangerous surf for Hawaii’s Big Island. Nolo was a Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph when its outer rainbands began hitting Big Island Friday evening, the National Hurricane Center said. Come Saturday, hurricane conditions are possible on the island, especially in areas with steep terrain, the weather service warned. The storm was about 145 miles south of South Point, the southernmost point of the Big Island, at around 5 p.m. local time, and was moving north-northeast at 3 mph.

This marks the third hurricane in less than two months to whip past Hawaii (following Lala and Lowell). The active Pacific hurricane season is likely due to a record-setting El Niño — a natural climate pattern characterized by a rise in sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific, and spawns more intense and frequent cyclones there. Tess Kala, a South Point resident who grew up in the area, said the back-to-back storms are a shock to locals. “Honestly, this is the first like, whoa, what happened? We had a lot of family and friends that have lived here all their lives through generations and never experienced this