LIHUE — Kauai got more rain overnight than any of the other Hawaiian Islands during the period ending at noon Thursday.
Mount Waialeale posted 6.87 inches in the 24-hour period starting at noon Wednesday. Of that amount, 5.56 inches fell in a 12-hour period starting at midnight Wednesday.
Kapahi posted 5.36 inches, Hanalei reported 2.38 inches with 2.19 inches falling from midnight Wednesday, Kalaheo reported 1.47 inches, and Waimea Heights recorded 1.64 inches. The other islands of Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island posted amounts of less than an inch during the same 24-hour period, according to hydrology reports from the National Weather Service.
A high surf warning remains in effect for north and east facing shores with subsiding surf expected to reach 20 to 25 feet along affected shores.
Ocean Safety Bureau officials advised no swimming or snorkeling along the north- and east-facing beaches, including the Lydgate Beach Park, due to the high surf and dangerous ocean conditions.
“I was out at Wainiha Wednesday,” said Jaime Arreola, manager of Duke’s Canoe Club at Kalapaki. “It was going off. The waves are coming down Thursday, but it’s still pretty wild.”
A group of surfers took advantage of the spring break and the swell to take in waves at the Ammonia Break at Kalapaki.
“It was pretty clean this morning,” said Kawehi Louis-Diamond. “But the river leaked the banks and now, the water is all dirty. The water is pretty high. Last night, my mother called to say the water was over the (pedestrian) bridge at Harbor Mall, and some of the cars were under water.”
As of 2 p.m. Thursday, the state’s Department of Health had no brown water advisories for Kauai.
“I wasn’t going in that water,” Louis-Diamond said. “The guys in the water said it was smelly. The last time I was in brown water was when they dredged the harbor. I caught bronchitis, and it didn’t go away for a long time. Today, I’m in my clothes for the gym.”
According to the National Weather Service, the cloudy conditions with breezy trade winds will continue through today, with showers focusing over windward areas. The highest chances of rainfall will be across the western portion of the state. An upper level trough will approach from the west to bring another wet period along with a few thunderstorms from late tonight through Saturday.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
