Hurricane Nolo still threatens Hawaii as Mexico’s Baja braces for major Hurricane Polo | US News

Hurricane Nolo was moving away from the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday, but the threat of heavy rain, flash flooding and strong winds persisted in areas of the island chain still recovering from previous storms.

Nolo was about 360 miles (585 km) south-southwest of Honolulu and moving away from the Big Island at about 12 mph (19 kph). But the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said a high wind warning, wind advisory and high surf advisory remained in effect for parts of the island through Sunday evening as Nolo’s maximum sustained winds reached 115 mph (165 kph).

Nolo is expected to strengthen further and turn toward the northwest by Sunday evening, although the U.S. National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm will remain well to the south and southwest of the Hawaiian Islands. The storm was expected to approach the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a national conservation area, early this week.

Forecasters said Nolo’s outer bands could cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Big Island seeing up to 50cm of rain. Heavy rain was also expected on the other islands.

“Don’t venture out if you don’t have to in a dangerous environment of flooding, but also high winds. We can bring down trees and power lines,” said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center.

Heavy rain fell on the southern part of the Big Island Saturday afternoon, causing the partial closure of one of the major highways connecting Kailua-Kona in the west to Hilo in the east.

Near Naalehu, on the southern tip of the island, members of the National Guard were seen guiding a man through flooded streets as he tried to leave his home in a downpour. More than 120 Guard members were activated on the island, out of about 400 statewide, after the governor issued an emergency proclamation.

Residents are still recovering from Hurricane Lala, which brought heavy rain and winds strong enough to sweep about 100 homes off their foundations on the Big Island.

About a dozen people were in the water Saturday morning at Carlsmith Beach Park in Hilo on the Big Island, despite signs indicating the beach was closed. Andrea Gill had been out swimming regularly before returning home to relax with family.

Businesses closed their doors and events were canceled. Gill said storms are common, but hurricanes are rare. She remained hopeful that the islands might not take the full impact.

“We’re used to a lot of rain. We’re not used to wind. So it’s always a blessing when we don’t get hurricane wind,” Gill said.

Donald Trump recently approved an emergency declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to coordinate aid and provide financial support.

Hawaiian Electric, the state’s main utility, said crews that helped restore power to Kauai after this month’s Hurricane Lowell have returned to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island in response to Nolo.

The Pacific has been unusually active this season, according to National Weather Service chief forecaster Bob Oravec, with above-average storm activity during what is already the peak of hurricane season. He said this trend is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often experiences more tropical storms and hurricanes.

Meanwhile, parts of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula awaited the arrival of another major hurricane with a similar name, Polo, as it moved closer after hitting other parts of the country’s southwest coast with rain and strong winds.

Hurricane Polo remained a dangerous Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph) and was moving north-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph) about 275 miles (445 km) south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of the peninsula, U.S. hurricane forecasters said Sunday afternoon. It was moving north at 19 km/h.

Mexico’s National Meteorological Service, or SMN, said in a post on social media platform X that Polo is expected to make landfall in Baja on Monday.

The Mexican government has issued a hurricane warning along the coast of mainland Mexico, from Huatabampito to Guaymas.

The Mexican navy said in a statement that it had assembled personnel and humanitarian aid at the ports of Guaymas and Mazatlan on Mexico’s Pacific coast and had deployed three ships that could deliver aid to coastal communities isolated by the hurricane.

One of the towns in the hurricane’s projected path is San Juanico, a small fishing community on the Pacific coast of Baja. The city has only had full-time electricity for a few years and still experiences frequent outages. There are fears that destroyed roads will block access to the nearest medical facility, about 80 minutes away in Ciudad Constitucion.

“Our people are concerned about this event,” said Gloriely Robles Meza, manager of a small hotel. “We have not faced such a worrying situation for many years.”

Robles Meza said Sunday that the Mexican army had arrived in San Juanico to prepare shelter and provide support in case of a possible emergency. A team of electricians was also present to prepare for Polo’s arrival.

Also on Sunday, Tropical Storm Rachel formed off the southwest coast of Mexico, the Miami-based US Hurricane Center announced. He added that Rachel had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) and was located about 300 miles (485 km) south of Acapulco, Mexico. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.