Tropical Storm Nolo formed about 300 miles south of Hawaii's Big Island late on Wednesday morning, and the National Hurricane Center has placed Hawaii County under a hurricane watch. Forecasters expect Nolo to reach hurricane strength on Thursday night and to make its closest approach on Saturday as a Category 3 storm, bringing fifteen to twenty inches of rain, and warnings of catastrophic, life-threatening flooding and mudslides on steep ground. It would be the island's third close brush with a hurricane this season, after Lala in August and Lowell in early September, and communities there have not finished repairing what those storms took. We pray for every household on the Big Island and for the civil defence teams and emergency crews who will work through the weekend. May the storm spend its strength upon the open sea, and may the island be kept safe.