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Winds that downed trees, caused outages begin to weaken

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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM

A tree fell on cars and a Nuuanu home Tuesday night, pinning a man in his bed.

Strong winds that caused power outages, downed trees and blew off roofs Tuesday night were expected to gradually ease this evening.

The northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts to 50 mph, prompted a wind advisory for the state, which was dropped for most areas except for Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Kohala Mountains, this afternoon. A gale warning and small craft advisories were also posted for Hawaiian waters.

About 1,700 customers in the Aina Haina to Wailupe area lost power because of a wind-related incident, said Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Darren Pai. Most service was restored overnight, but repairs for about 100 customers had to wait until daylight, Pai said in an email.

The winds kept Honolulu firefighters busy responding to calls for blown roofs, arcing electrical wires and downed trees, the Honolulu Fire Department reported.

Capt. David Jenkins, a Fire Department spokesman, said there were at least 10 incidents overnight and a half-dozen wind-related incidents today with firefighters responding to calls in Manoa, Aina Haina, Kalihi and Kaneohe.

At 8:30 p.m. on Country Club Road in Nuuanu a tree fell on a home pinning a man in his bed. Paramedics were summoned, but the victim refused treatment.

Besides damaging the garage and parts of the home in Nuuanu, the fallen tree also damaged cars in the neighborhood, Jenkins said.

In Manoa, at 12:10 p.m. Tuesday, high winds blew the roof off a garage on Manoa Road and damaged a section of the attached living room.

There was another roof blown off a home on Kuliouou Road in Aina Haina at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

At 2 a.m. this morning a tree temporarily blocked a portion of the Likelike Highway in Kalihi.

Jenkins said other calls Wednesday were mostly in Manoa for minor items such as loose shingles and rain gutters, and a damaged solar water heater.

Forecasters expected the windy conditions to slowly weaken through Thursday.

The weather service extended a high surf advisory, prompted by a wind swell on east shores of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui and the Big Island, until 6 p.m. Thursday. Forecasters said rough seas created by the strong trade winds would gradually subside. Surf heights were at 6 to 10 feet today and should decline to 5 to 8 feet Thursday.

Moisture associated with a weak front also brought a few showers, mostly in windward and mauka areas, today.

Forecasters said another cold front is approaching the state and could bring an increased chance of showers Saturday night into Sunday.

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CORRECTION: A tree fell on a house and cars on Country Club Road in Nuuanu. An earlier version of this story said it happened on Century Club Road.

10 responses to “Winds that downed trees, caused outages begin to weaken”

  1. mikethenovice says:

    Windy days are the best days to watch the lady’s dress flying up at the Pali Lookout.

  2. FARKWARD says:

    “..Honolulu firefighters busy responding to calls for blown roofs…” With such a demand for “blown roofs” “Honolulu firefighters” should be reaping sizeable profits.(?)

  3. W_Williams says:

    Kuli`ou`ou Road is in Kuli`ou`ou, not `Aina Haina.

  4. wave1 says:

    What we gonna do when the big blow comes, 50 mph is nothing…

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