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'In panic mode': Hawaii Island residents prepare for Hurricane Nolo · Best of: Features

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  In panic mode, Hawaii Island residents prepare for Hurricane Nolo Written by
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  Christine Hitt. This article is being read by an automated voice generated
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  by Everlett. Parts of Hawaii
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  Island could get up to twenty five inches of rain from Hurricane
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  Nolo this weekend, bringing the threat of life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides
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  to communities that are still recovering from Hurricane Lala. Hawaii island is
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  currently under a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch. Hurricane Nolo strengthened
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  to a Category 2 storm Friday as it moved north toward Hawaii
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  Island. It's expected to remain south of the island before turning west
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  this weekend. Maui could also receive 4-6 inches
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  with maximum amounts of 10 inches, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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  The rest of the state is forecast to receive about one to
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  three inches, with isolated amounts up to six inches. The unusually active
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  hurricane season comes amid a strengthening El Nino, which has helped make
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  conditions favorable for more storms to develop in the eastern and central
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  Pacific. Tropical storm conditions are expected to begin Friday night on Hawaii
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  Island, with hurricane conditions possible by early Saturday. Right now the areas
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  of concern are the east and southeast facing slopes of the Big
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  Island. That does include the Cow District, which was hit hard by
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  Lala, Laura Ferris, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu,
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  told S F Gate by phone Friday. Nolo is expected to bring
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  ten to fifteen inches of rain to eastern and southern parts of
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  the island, possibly reaching twenty five inches at higher mountain elevations. When
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  we have moisture coming in from the south and southeast, it hits
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  those slopes on the big island, and those slopes can enhance moisture
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  because it pushes the atmosphere up. Maureen Ballard, another meteorologist with the
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  Weather Service in Honolulu, told S F Gate by phone Wednesday. Those
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  clouds rise, they form more rain, and so even when we bring
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  in rain, more of it is produced over the slopes of the
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  big island, she added. For residents in Cao, another major storm threat
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  is coming just weeks after Lala damaged homes and businesses, washed out
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  infrastructure, disturbed graves, and killed at least two people. Everybody is, yes,
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  they're panicking and scared, and we're just in panic mode, Cal Resident
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  Terry Lee Shibuya told Kite V this week. Everybody's just racing against
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  time to get situated, and you and I both know that there's
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  not enough time. In Nalehu, some of the recovery from Lala isn't
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  finished. Wang Yuan store suffered structural damage, lost inventory, and went without
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  power and water for about two weeks. Nearby Poonalu Bake Shop was
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  also still rebuilding from severe damage when SF Gates spoke with businesses
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  in the community earlier this month. Now heavy rain is headed toward
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  the same part of the island. Earlier forecasts showed the possibility of
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  as much as thirty five inches of rain, but that maximum has
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  since dropped to twenty five inches. We have been able to walk
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  the rainfall total down slightly, but still with isolated potentials for twenty
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  five inches, flash flooding is still a concern, especially for the big
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  island and the resulting mudslides, Ferris said. Nolo has also been moving
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  slowly. Ferris said it was traveling north northeast at about four knots,
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  which she described as pretty slow after being stationary for a period,
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  and that slow crawl is approaching an area where the ground is
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  already wet from recent rains, making parts of Southeast Hawaii Island particularly
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  susceptible to flooding all over again. Editors note SF Gate recognizes the
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  importance of diacritical marks in the Hawaiian language. We are unable to
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  use them due to the limitations of our publishing platform. This story
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  has been updated.