Hurricane Nolo, also known as Typhoon Nolo, is a powerful and long-lived tropical cyclone in the western Pacific Ocean. It is the nineteenth named storm, ninth hurricane, and fifth major hurricane of the 2026 Pacific hurricane season, as well as the eleventh typhoon of the 2026 Pacific typhoon season.
Nolo originated from an area of disturbed weather monitored by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) south of the Baja California Peninsula on September 8. The system developed a broad area of low pressure and became better organized, developing into Tropical Depression Fifteen-E on September 13. Increasing wind shear caused the depression to degenerate into a trough on September 16, but its remnants regenerated into a tropical depression in the central Pacific on September 23, when the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) assumed responsibility. The system strengthened into a tropical storm later that day. Nolo became a Category 1 hurricane on September 25 and strengthened to Category 2 later that day. Dry air caused it to weaken to Category 1 strength on September 26, before it restrengthened to Category 2 strength on September 27. On September 28, Nolo became an annular hurricane and rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane, reaching peak winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 929 mbar (27.43 inHg). Strong southwesterly wind shear and dry mid-level air subsequently caused Nolo to weaken rapidly to a tropical storm on September 30. Nolo began reorganizing on October 2 as environmental conditions became more favorable, and it restrengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. The following day, it rapidly intensified to Category 2 and then Category 3 strength as deep convection became better organized around a warm eye. Nolo crossed the International Date Line at 180°W, and the CPHC issued its final advisory at 21:00 UTC on October 4 as the system became Typhoon Nolo. Responsibility subsequently passed to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on October 5.
While Hurricane Nolo did not cause significant damage in Hawaii, it still affected the state as it passed nearby, becoming the fourth tropical cyclone to affect Hawaii in 2026, after Hurricanes Lala, Lowell, and Tropical Storm Moke. A hurricane watch and tropical storm warning were issued for Hawaiʻi County, while several roads were closed due to flooding and landslides. Nolo also affected the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument as it passed through its southeastern waters.
Meteorological history
Origin and regeneration
On September 8, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) began monitoring an area of interest well south of the Baja California Peninsula, noting that some slow development was possible as the system moved generally west-northwestward, although the NHC noted that the system would likely develop into a tropical depression within the next week. On the next day, a broad area of low pressure developed, with showers and thunderstorms associated with the system located several hundred miles southwest of the southwestern coast of Mexico. On September 11, the system became better organized in association with a broad area of low pressure.
On September 13 at 21:00 UTC, the consolidating low formed into Tropical Depression Fifteen-E. Unfavorable wind shear eventually overtook the tropical depression, causing it to open up into a trough early on September 16. However, the next day, the NHC continued to monitor the system for potential regeneration from the remnants of the tropical depression, noting that environmental conditions were only marginally conducive to some development as the system moved gradually westward. Early on September 23, the remnants of the system regenerated into a tropical depression in the central Pacific under the jurisdiction of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) after crossing 140°W. As the remnants remained trackable for more than a week after losing tropical cyclone status, the CPHC re-initiated advisories and retained its original designation as Tropical Depression Fifteen-E. Later that day, it strengthened into a tropical storm and was assigned the name Nolo by the CPHC.
Intensification and peak intensity
At 03:00 UTC on September 25, Nolo strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale as it moved north-northwestward. It continued steadily strengthening, becoming a Category 2 hurricane late that day. Dry air intrusions caused Nolo to weaken back into a Category 1 hurricane on September 26 as it passed south of Hawaii's Big Island, moving westward. It restrengthened into a high-end Category 2 hurricane on September 27, continuing westward as its eye became better defined. By 09:00 UTC on September 28, Nolo had become an annular hurricane and rapidly intensified to Category 4 strength as a ridge began steering it west-northwestward, peaking with 1-minute sustained winds of 155 mph (250 km/h) and a barometric pressure of 929 mbar (27.43 inHg). After peaking, Nolo began to weaken as increasing westerly wind shear affected the hurricane, with satellite imagery indicating more asymmetric convection, as convection decreased north and east of the well-defined, very warm eye while increasing to the south and west.
The hurricane turned toward the northwest as it moved along the southwestern and western periphery of a mid-level high centered north of the main Hawaiian Islands. Nolo remained a major hurricane despite moderate to strong vertical wind shear caused by an approaching mid- to upper-level trough to its northwest, eventually weakening to a Category 2 hurricane the following day as its convective organization continued to deteriorate. The hurricane continued to weaken due to strong southwesterly vertical wind shear and dry air entrainment, with satellite imagery showing the low-level center becoming partially exposed as deep convection decreased in coverage and cloud tops warmed, eventually weakening to a Category 1 hurricane while slowing and turning northward.
Weakening and restrengthening On September 30, Nolo continued to rapidly weaken under strong southwesterly vertical wind shear and dry mid-level air, eventually weakening to tropical storm status as its low-level circulation became completely exposed, with only minimal convection persisting northeast of the center, while the storm drifted slightly south of west. The storm's structure continued to degrade, with the defined center becoming less distinct and convection across the southern flank weakening substantially based on satellite imagery. Nolo's convection continued to dissipate, with satellite imagery showing warming cloud-top temperatures in the remnant convection northwest of the low-level circulation, while dry air persisted across the storm's southern semicircle. On October 1, the storm showed signs of improvement as it gradually became better organized, with satellite imagery showing bursts of deep convection and some outflow in the northwestern quadrant, the redevelopment of moderate to deep convection near the center, and a large spiral band forming in the eastern semicircle, although conventional satellite estimates remained barely at tropical-storm strength as the storm passed south of French Frigate Shoals within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. By 03:00 UTC on October 2, Nolo began to become better organized as it moved into a more favorable environment, although its structure remained poorly defined around the center, with drier air still prevailing. Another burst of deep convection developed in the northwestern quadrant, while the southern semicircle remained relatively free of activity and convection became more persistent near the center of circulation.
The storm's convective structure continued to improve, with an eye becoming apparent in satellite imagery as the storm reached near-hurricane strength. At 21:00 UTC, Nolo restrengthened into a Category 1 hurricane as its structure began to improve, while it moved slowly westward under the influence of weak ridging to the north. The hurricane's convective organization continued to improve, with satellite imagery showing deep convection expanding around a warming eye over the past several hours. The next day, the hurricane rapidly re-intensified, with cold cloud tops associated with deep convection expanding symmetrically around a very warm eye as it strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane before rapidly intensifying further into a Category 3 hurricane. On October 4, the CPHC noted that Nolo's eye and inner core had degraded due to an eyewall replacement cycle, while the hurricane continued to move quickly westward under the influence of an expanding mid-level ridge to its north. Nolo subsequently appeared to have completed the eyewall replacement cycle, and its satellite presentation steadily improved. The eyewall re-consolidated, with a symmetric ring of deep convection completely wrapping around the center, while the eye cleared significantly and transitioned from a ragged appearance to a distinct, circular, and warming eye, with temperatures near .
Becoming a typhoon
Nolo crossed the International Date Line at 180°, and the CPHC issued its final advisory on the hurricane at 21:00 UTC on October 4 as it became Typhoon Nolo, marking the first such occurrence since Hurricane Dora in 2023. Responsibility for the storm subsequently passed to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) at 00:00 UTC on October 5, after which the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued advisories for the system and redesignated it as 15E at 03:00 UTC the same day. With one-minute sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph), Nolo was equivalent to a Category 3 typhoon based on the Saffir–Simpson wind scale, according to the JTWC.
At the time, the JMA assessed the typhoon as having maximum 10-minute sustained winds of 165 km/h (105 mph) and a central atmospheric pressure of 960 hPa (28.35 inHg). Satellite imagery depicted the typhoon with a ragged, partially cloud-filled eye with a temperature of , surrounded by a thick, nearly symmetrical convective ring that maintained cloud-top temperatures of . The typhoon continued to develop outer rainbands around its eastern and southern flanks while maintaining a symmetrical eye surrounded by well-organized spiral bands of deep convection and a central dense overcast (CDO). The typhoon was moving west-northwestward along the southwestern periphery of a mid-level subtropical high, with good cloud characteristics and anticyclonic outflow, while satellite imagery showed a large, symmetrical eye, slightly warming cloud tops as dry air entered the western side of the core, and storm- and typhoon-force winds concentrated along the southwestern semicircle with stronger winds extending across the northeastern semicircle.