Hurricane Nolo reaches Category 3 in remote Pacific, far west of Hawaii, reports say

The U.S. National Hurricane Center has said that large surf associated with Hurricane Nolo "will likely inundate some of the low-lying atolls" in the remote Pacific, in a statement quoted by The Hindu. This is a forecast, not an observed outcome.

Nolo strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane on Saturday, 3 October 2026, far to the west of Hawaii's main islands, according to The Hindu and the Associated Press.

What the reports say

Nolo's maximum sustained winds rapidly intensified to 115 mph (185 kph), according to The Hindu, citing the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

The storm was located about 210 miles (335 kilometres) south-southwest of Maro Reef, The Hindu reported. It was moving westward at 17 mph (28 kph).

A tropical storm warning was issued for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, from Maro Reef to Lisianski Island, according to The Hindu. The monument is a remote, federally protected area.

No threat was in the forecast for any populated islands, The Hindu reported.

The hurricane centre said Nolo was expected to cross the international date line on Sunday, 4 October 2026, according to the same report.

Nolo's earlier path

Nolo skirted Hawaii as a hurricane about a week earlier, according to The Hindu. It then weakened to a tropical storm and regained hurricane strength on Friday, 2 October 2026.

A second Pacific hurricane

Another Pacific hurricane, Category 1 Rachel, continued heading westward on a path away from the west coast of Mexico, The Hindu reported.

Dangerous swells were forecast through the weekend for the coast of west-central Mexico, according to the hurricane centre as cited by The Hindu. Swells were forecast through Monday, 5 October 2026, for the Baja California Peninsula.

What the reports do not include

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include the National Hurricane Center's advisory text itself, or the time to which the wind, position and movement figures refer. The Hindu attributes the wind speed, the surf forecast, the date line crossing and the swell forecasts to the centre. It gives the storm's position, movement, the warning and the storm's history without explicit attribution.

The reports do not describe any observed damage, flooding or other impacts on the atolls or elsewhere. They do not say whether any people are present in the warned area of the monument, or which agency issued the tropical storm warning.

The reports do not include Nolo's forecast track or intensity after it crosses the international date line. They do not describe any effects from its earlier passage near Hawaii. They also do not give Rachel's wind speed, position or forecast track.

The Hindu and the Associated Press belong to the same cable group, so Vocemundi treats them as a single origin. The Associated Press report was reviewed only in summary form and adds no detail beyond the Category 3 strengthening and general location.

Analysis

The reported forecast points to a storm whose main effects may fall on uninhabited or sparsely visited protected atolls rather than on populated areas. If the surf forecast proves accurate, low-lying parts of the Papahanaumokuakea monument could be inundated, but the reports describe no observed impacts so far. Nolo's course after the international date line is not covered in the reports, so its later strength and direction remain open. Separately, the swell forecasts linked to Hurricane Rachel suggest coastal hazards for parts of Mexico even as that storm moves away. All figures rest on a single origin, which cites the hurricane centre for only some of them.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.