KAPAHI — A storm of marble-sized hail pounded Kapahi about 1 a.m. Friday, and was followed by a report of a tornado in a Lihu‘e neighborhood later Friday afternoon.
Kapahi residents woke up in the early hours of Friday to the sound of rocks falling from the sky. Hail set off car alarms, ripped off window screens, battered glass windows and pounded metal roofs.
Long-time residents and government agencies say hail is uncommon but not unheard of, with the last event occurring a few years ago on Kaua‘i.
Windward O‘ahu also reported seeing hail in their neighborhoods, some the size of lemons, according to KHON.
“Hail is certainly not a common occurrence in Hawai‘i, but you would probably have to contact someone with the National Weather Service to explain the phenomenon,” said the Civil Defense press office Friday.
It’s a twister
At 3:51 p.m. in Molokoa Phase III in Lihu‘e, a small tornado removed shingles on a resident’s roof, both front and back, and tore up their mailbox.
“It came from behind our house,” said Molokoa resident Viviane Stein, recalling the tornado. “It looked like such a big, black cloud and then I saw the funnel. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.”
The small twister left the Steins’ children’s toys strewn about the neighborhood “much more than they normally are,” her husband chided.
Another report at around the same time claimed the Kaua‘i Federal Credit Union building in Lihu‘e lost some roof tiles, but the report could not be confirmed prior to publication.
Kaua‘i Civil Defense received a report of a residence on Puaole Street in Lihu‘e that sustained possible wind damage to its roof, a county news release states.
Mike Cantin of a meteorologist and warning coordinator for the National Weather Service at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa said when a funnel forms over the water, it’s a water spout. When it reaches land, it’s considered a tornado.
He said he investigated an estimated 60 to 70 mph tornado that hit an O‘ahu neighborhood Friday and caused minor to moderate damage to the roofs and patios and older homes.
O‘ahu also experienced record rainfall levels from the storm.
Cantin said Friday’s storm grabbed remnants of a low-pressure system from earlier in the week. He predicted the system would weaken over the weekend and the island would return to tradewind weather next week.
He was unsure of when Kaua‘i experienced its last hail storm because records offices on O‘ahu don’t keep as detailed records about outer-island weather phenomena, he said.
Nothing like it
in 35 years
Friday afternoon and with sandbags in short supply, Kapahi resident Jane Winter called KONG radio asking for help to keep her home from being inundated by water.
“We couldn’t stop the water from going in,” Winter said. “It was coming up from under the ground because the ground is already so saturated. So we got an idea of digging these ditches and then discovered we were too old to it.”
She offered to pay someone to come out and lend hand and gave out her phone number.
“It was miraculous,” she said. “One guy showed up and another 15 to 20 people called who were willing to help for money or no money.”
Using some a plywood, Winter, her husband and their helper managed to fashion a diversion. Their efforts were successful, except for some old tax forms and miscellaneous stored items in the lower level of her and husband’s home.
“I’ve lived here 35 years and never seen rain like this,” Winter said. “This seemed more intense than the rain we had when Ka Loko Dam broke.”
She wished to thank Ken Van Mark, Leonard, and Ron Wiley of KONG radio.
“It’s so moving to have so many people willing to help us. It’s been a really difficult week, but we discovered that, in hard times, people really do help each other,” she said. “The aloha spirit still lives!”
• Vanessa Van Voorhis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 251, or by emailing vvanvoorhis@thegardenisland.com.
