KAPAA — The Kilohana rain gauge near Hanalei recorded the most rain on Saturday night, during the height of the storm that rocked Kauai with thunder and lightning.
A flash flood watch was in effect through Monday evening. A local woman had a harrowing experience, washed downstream and into the ocean while trying to evacuate her home. Kuhio Highway by Hanalei Bridge was closed.
And yet, weather experts say rain gauges don’t reflect a record-breaking storm.
“The Wainiha Stream gauge wasn’t anything too impressive,” said Matthew Foster, forecaster with National Weather Service, on Monday. “It got up to our advisory level but it wasn’t anything like the storms in 2018.”
In the 24-hour period ending 8 a.m. on Sunday, that Wainiha gauge recorded 4.1 inches of rain. During the April 2018 storm that flooded the North Shore, that gauge was reflecting more than 50 inches of rain.
The Sunday gauge reading from Wainiha wasn’t the highest reported; according to NWS rain gauge reports, it was the United States Geological Survey gauge at Kilohana by Hanalei that took the top readings over the weekend.
That gauge recorded 8.2 inches over the 24-hour period ending 8 a.m. Sunday. The gauge on Mount Waialeale was runner-up with 6.5 inches, closely followed by the Kapahi rain gauge at 6.01 inches.
According to the hydrology report, the storm avoided much of the south side, dropping 0.21 inches in Omao and absolutely nothing in Port Allen. Poipu reported receiving 0.09 inches over that time period and Hanapepe also reported no rainfall.
In October the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released their wet season rainfall outlook for upcoming months through April 2020, when the season ends.
They predicted an uptick in storms with intense rainfall and that it would eliminate the existing drought in Hawaii.
Monday, Foster said the weekend weather was an example of what forecasters have been expecting for the current wet season.
“We expect a higher than average potential for these significant rain events and this is an example of one occurring,” he said.
As of Monday afternoon, NWS was expecting the rainy weather to continue through today. They’re predicting scattered showers through the weekend.
“Wednesday it should start to improve. The trades should come back, but it’ll be a wetter trade pattern (than normal). That’ll pretty much continue through the weekend. We might get a little more wind,” Foster said.
This morning between about 9:30 and 11:30, Homesteads got about 2″ of rain. Road in Waipouli was under water and I hear the north-bound lands of Kuhio Highway at the Club House turn (KCCC) was completely flooded. Yet no flash flood warning? Go figure.