Hurricane Nolo brings catastrophic, life-threatening flooding to Hawaii’s Big Island this weekend

 

Residents on Hawaii's Big Island were bracing Friday for potentially life-threatening and catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Nolo, while Mexico was still under the threat of Hurricane Polo as it headed toward the Baja Peninsula after bringing storm conditions to the southwestern coast as AP reports.

Nolo was about 185 miles (298 kilometers) south of the Big Island on Friday morning and headed northeast, with tropical storm conditions expected to begin on land in the evening, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was expected to take a turn west Saturday and avoid directly hitting the islands.

 Forecasters warned eastern and southern areas of the island could see rainfall totals of 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters), with a maximum of 25 inches (64 centimeters). That was down from an earlier forecast of 15 to 30 inches (38 to 76 centimeters), with a maximum of 35 inches (89 centimeters). Wind gusts on land could hit 50 mph (80 kph).

Nolo was expected to strengthen to a major hurricane on Saturday.