Hurricane Nolo nears Hawaii Island; nor'easter warnings from Virginia to Massachusetts

THE EMN DAILY NEWS BRIEF | Friday, 25 September 2026Nolo became a hurricane Thursday night and is closing on Hawaii Island with 80-mile-per-hour winds, a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch for Hawaii County, a tropical storm watch for Maui County, and forecast rainfall of 15 to 30 inches on the eastern and southern Big Island. Hawaii County opens five more shelters this morning, and state and county offices, public schools and University of Hawaii facilities on the island are closed today. High wind warnings took effect at 8 a.m. for coastal Massachusetts and most of Rhode Island as the nor’easter strengthens, with coastal flood warnings up in southeastern Virginia. The national preparedness level holds at 2 with 74 incidents and 6,824 personnel, down 520, and Northern California now reports no uncontained large fires. Correction: Thursday’s issue reported year-to-date acreage revised down to 8,096,338; today’s report puts it at 8,559,888, or 145 percent of average, so that drop was a reporting lag rather than a revision. The EMN NEWS Daily Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news.KEY TAKEAWAYSHurricane Nolo: The Central Pacific Hurricane Center put Nolo at 80 miles per hour at 11 p.m. Thursday, centered 240 miles south of South Point and moving north-northeast at 5 miles per hour. Hurricane-force winds extend 40 miles from the center. Forecasters expect rapid intensification to a major hurricane Saturday, with a sharp turn west near the Big Island. Tropical storm conditions begin late Friday in the warning area, with hurricane conditions possible early Saturday.Hawaii operations: Hawaii County is opening five additional shelters this morning. Governor Josh Green closed state and county offices, Department of Education schools and University of Hawaii campuses on Hawaii Island Thursday and Friday. This is the state’s fourth tropical system of the season, after Lala in August and Lowell earlier this month, and Green put combined damage and planned resilience costs from the run of disasters above $1 billion.Get ready, Long Beach! Join emergency management professionals from across the country and around the world for the IAEM 74th Annual Conference & EMEX, November 9-11, 2026, and experience three incredible days of big ideas, new connections, innovation, and the people shaping the future of emergency management. We’ll see you in Long Beach!Nor’easter: The Boston forecast office issued high wind warnings for coastal and southeastern Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island except northwestern Providence County, running from 8 a.m. today to 2 a.m. Sunday, with northeast gusts of 45 to 60 miles per hour and 65 to 70 possible on the islands. Coastal flood warnings remain in southeastern Virginia with 2 to 3 feet of inundation forecast. Reporting from Norfolk describes repeated high tide cycles flooding roads and disrupting city operations, and Saturday’s full moon raises each successive tide.Wildfire posture: Preparedness Level 2 with 74 incidents, 26 uncontained large fires, 1,783,567 acres and 6,824 personnel, a drop of 520, per the Friday situation report. Initial attack was light, with 70 fires, one new large incident, two large fires contained and six complex teams committed. Year to date, the country is at 57,087 fires and 8,559,888 acres, 125 and 145 percent of the ten-year averages.California: Floriston near Truckee is fully contained, leaving Northern California with no uncontained large fires. Timber on the Los Padres National Forest gained 241 personnel to 920 with moderate fire behavior and uphill runs, and numerous structures and communication infrastructure remain threatened. Dome in Yosemite National Park grew 144 acres to 4,133 at 16 percent contained, with costs now at $13.8 million.Northwest: Thirteen uncontained large fires and 3,115 personnel, down 209, with precipitation over most of the Oregon and Washington incidents yesterday. Three Queens hold 9,551 acres and are 31 percent contained, with numerous residences and critical infrastructure threatened.Southern Area: Thirty-one new fires and one new large incident. Lake Ranch, northwest of McAlester, Oklahoma, is 390 acres and 74 percent contained after wind-driven runs and torching.Fire weather: Southwesterly gusts to 40 miles per hour develop across northeast California, the northern Great Basin and southwest to central Montana, with minimum humidity of 10 to 20 percent from northern Nevada into central Montana and areas of elevated conditions. Wetting rain is expected from northern Idaho into western Montana.Federal assistance: SBA physical damage deadlines for the September 1 public assistance declarations close November 1 in Colorado and South Dakota and November 2 in Missouri and Texas. Economic injury applications stay open to June 1, 2027.Cyber: No Known Exploited Vulnerabilities additi