Hurricane Nolo reached Category 3 strength Saturday in the remote Pacific, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported. The storm sat about 210 miles (335 kilometers) south-southwest of Maro Reef and moved west at 17 mph (28 kph).
Warning Over Protected Waters
A tropical storm warning covers the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a large, remote area protected by the federal government. It stretches from Maro Reef to Lisianski Island, including islands, atolls, seamounts, shoals and coral reefs.
Large surf linked to Nolo “will likely inundate some of the low-lying atolls,” the hurricane center said. Its forecast points to possible inundation on low-lying land inside the warning area. No populated islands were expected to face a threat.
The warning applies to a federally protected marine area, not to a forecast threat against populated islands. The report offers no estimate of damage, financial losses or recovery costs. It doesn't identify workers, residents or businesses facing specific losses, and names no commercial operator or owner connected to the threatened atolls.
Nolo was expected to cross the international date line Sunday. The hurricane center reported the storm’s location, movement and wind speed as it headed west; the warning area lies along its forecast path.
Storm Strength and Forecast
A week earlier, Nolo skirted Hawaii as a hurricane before weakening into a tropical storm. It regained hurricane strength Friday, then strengthened to Category 3 Saturday. The hurricane center’s account tracks the storm’s changing intensity as it crossed the Pacific.
The article reports no government funding, private insurance arrangements or emergency-response measures. It also gives no account of local labor or organized groups responding to the warning. The main human-impact detail is that no populated islands faced an expected direct threat, while large surf could inundate some low-lying atolls.
Category 1 hurricane Rachel continued westward on a path away from Mexico’s west coast. The hurricane center forecast dangerous swells along west-central Mexico through the weekend and around the Baja California Peninsula through Monday.
Nolo and Rachel are linked in the report by their westward movement and the forecast of hazardous surf. It gives no wind figures for Rachel and doesn’t say the hurricane will threaten Mexico’s west coast. Dangerous swells are the stated coastal hazard there.
Nolo’s reported hazard is large surf, with possible inundation at some low-lying atolls inside the warning zone. The forecast doesn’t say which atolls might flood, how high water could rise or what damage could follow. The hurricane center’s warning covers the area from Maro Reef to Lisianski Island, while its forecast says populated islands aren't expected to be threatened.