Tropical Storm Nolo strengthens over Pacific and Hawaii under hurricane watch

The National Hurricane Center said the island of Hawaii is under a hurricane watch as Tropical Storm Nolo strengthens in the Pacific Ocean and could bring up to 3 feet of rain to the island this week.

Forecasters said Nolo formed on Wednesday and could become a hurricane Thursday night, when heavy rainfall could also begin on the Big Island. They also warned that the storm could become a major hurricane By the end of the week, it’s Category 3 or higher.

In addition to the hurricane watch, the Big Island is under a tropical storm warning and Maui County is also under a tropical storm watch. The state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources said Thursday that all state parks on the Big Island will be closed Thursday and all state parks on Maui will be closed Friday because of the storm.

Map showing the path of Tropical Storm Nolo

As of Thursday morning local time, Storm Nolo had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. Tropical storm force winds extend up to 90 miles from the center. Its core is located approximately 455 miles south-southeast of Honolulu and 285 miles south of the southern tip of the Big Island.

Nolo is expected to arrive on the Big Island on Friday and Saturday.

The storm is expected to dump about 15 to 20 inches of rain on the Big Island, with up to 35 inches possible in some areas. The hurricane center warned that heavy rains could trigger “catastrophic, life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas with steep terrain.”

Maui could see 5 to 10 inches of rainfall, with totals up to 20 inches in some areas. Life-threatening flooding and mudslides are also possible on Maui. Water levels are expected to reach approximately 1 to 3 inches and up to 6 inches on the remaining islands, with localized flooding possible.

Nolo formed another storm, Hurricane Polocontinues to rotate in the Pacific Ocean off the southwestern coast of Mexico.

The recent storms have added to an unusually active season in the Pacific. At the beginning of this month, hurricane lowell The hurricane brought damaging winds and torrential rain to the western Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Niihau, downing trees, damaging roads and leaving thousands without power.

Last month, Hurricane Lala About 100 houses were washed awaytriggering landslides and widespread power outages as it passed over Hawaii.