Yesterday’s rainstorm and wind gusting nearly to 50 mph shut down electrical power in small pockets across the island, forced the closure of the Hanalei Bridge, disrupted traffic flow to Hanalei town, and knocked down trees in some neighborhoods on
Yesterday’s rainstorm and wind gusting nearly to 50 mph shut down electrical power in small pockets across the island, forced the closure of the Hanalei Bridge, disrupted traffic flow to Hanalei town, and knocked down trees in some neighborhoods on Kaua‘i.
The storm hit West Kaua‘i communities first, around midnight Thursday, and lit up parts of South Kaua‘i with lightning.
Kaua‘i was expected to receive the heaviest rainfall between noon and 2 p.m. Friday, as the bulk of the storm passed over the island.
“We expect rain through tomorrow (Saturday),” said Mark Marshall, Civil Defense administrator for the County of Kaua‘i.
An official with the National Weather Service office at the Lihu‘e Airport said residents could expect a break from the rain by late Friday night.
“They will be having showers and thunderstorms the rest of the day and tonight (Friday). We are looking at scattered, isolated showers after midnight,” said Richard Gazda, meteorological technician with the National Weather Service office at the Lihu‘e Airport.
“The main front is leaving Kaua‘i, and is moving to the east,” Gazda said midday yesterday.
The storm left parts of the island without power for a time.
Anne Barnes, a spokeswoman for the Kaua‘i Island Utilities Cooperative, said lightning struck a transmission line between a generation plant and Lihu‘e, leaving Lawa‘i without power for awhile before the problem was corrected by repair crews.
Barnes also reported power went out for 10 minutes in Wailua Homesteads, an open breaker caused partial outages in Kapa‘a, and brief outages occurred in Lihu‘e, but that power was eventually restored.
As of 1:30 p.m. yesterday, parts of the Molokoa subdivision in Lihu‘e had power, and other parts the subdivision did not, Barnes said. All power was restored by 3:30 p.m. Friday, she added.
Marshall said the Hanalei River was closed at 4 a.m. Friday when the river rose and shut down traffic over portions of the “bamboo patch” section of Kuhio Highway between Hanalei town and the bridge.
Marshall said no motorists were stranded by the closing of the bridge and road.
The road and the bridge were reopened between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. when the river water subsided and travel across the road became safe, Marshall said.
Hanalei School closed for the day because of the early morning bridge closure, said Daniel Hamada, Kaua‘i district superintendent of the state Department of Education.
All other public schools were open for the day, though students whose parents chose to have them stay home won’t be penalized in terms of attendance or school work missed, Hamada said.
Marshall said the storm created challenging driving conditions, and that there were no major accidents, “certainly no fatalities.”
“People are aware they need to slow down when the weather gets like this,” Marshall said.
The storm generated wind gusts that threatened to topple trees in Wailua, but were not the kind that lashed the island during a storm on Jan. 14, Marshall said. Winds gusted up to 60 mph on parts of Kaua‘i that day.
A high-wind warning for Kaua‘i remained in effect until 4 p.m. Friday, though the flash-flood warning up Thursday night and Friday morning was canceled early yesterday afternoon.
On Thursday evening, staffers at the National Weather Service office at Lihu‘e Airport recorded gusts of up to 48 mph, the highest wind reading from the storm, Gazda said.
Gazda also said government gauges registered wind gusts of 41 mph at Port Allen and 39 mph at Po‘ipu.
A flash-flood watch also was declared, and remained in effect until 4 p.m. Friday. The watch meant flash-flooding was possible, but not imminent.
A state Department of Land and Natural Resources official on Kaua‘i said no permits were issued two days prior to the storm for state camp sites on the island, particularly those at Kalalau Beach, a popular hiking spot for visitors.
The intent was to lessen the chance of people getting stuck at state camping grounds during the storm, the official said.
The spokesman said that as far he knew, campers at Kalalau Beach were safe during the storm.
Weather officials also warned beach-goers to be careful, as a continued high-surf warning remained in effect for beaches on the north and west sides of Kaua‘i.
Rains from the storm first began pelting the island at midnight Thursday as a huge front moved over the west side of the island, Marshall said.
As of Friday morning, the main part of the storm was some 60 miles southwest of Kaua‘i, Marshall said.
Marshall said it was his belief a second front was approaching the island from the same direction as the storm that hit Kaua‘i Friday morning, but in a “more westerly direction.”
Gazda said as far as he knew, only one storm affected Kaua‘i, and that the residual effect of that “storm leaving Kaua‘i (Friday night) will be cooler air and north winds up to 15 to 25 miles an hour, and a chance of showers and thunderstorms for Saturday.”
Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.
Wai‘ale‘ale gets 10 inches of rain
While most areas of Kaua‘i saw between two and six inches of rain during the 24-hour period ending 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, parts of the island, notably Mt. Wai‘ale‘ale (9.75 inches) and Koke‘e State Park (8.77 inches), received more.
Here are some other totals:
Makaha Ridge 6.52″
‘Oma‘o 5.39″
Wailua 4.92″
Lihu‘e 4.11″
Hanalei 2.50″
Isolated showers, including some thunderstorms, are predicted for the rest of the weekend, as a cold front remains over the island, according to forecasters.
Source: National Weather Service
