Bob Finley, Waikiki Neighborhood Board chair, was dining at the Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki Beach on Thursday afternoon when sheets of rain came down so hard that the force blew equipment out of the restaurant.
“The walk home was a real mess. The wind blew the palm fronds everywhere, and there was water all over the streets and sidewalks,” Finley said. “This was one of the worst storms that I’ve seen in a few years. The visitors were all inside. There wasn’t even a line at Marugame Udon, and there’s always a line at that noodle shop. Waikiki business definitely took a hit tonight.”
Finley, who had set out to meet a friend during a lull, ended up walking home in the midst of a National Weather Service-issued flash flood warning for Oahu, which was expected to run to 2 a.m. today.
The warning said rain was falling at a rate of up to 3 inches per hour, and cautioned that streams along Windward Oahu were showing rises in water levels. The entire state is expected to remain under a flash-flood watch until this afternoon, and a high-wind warning is expected to stay in place until noon today with winds of at least 40 mph expected, with gusts over 60 mph. Weather officials warn of possible damage to roofs, siding and trees.
Jerry Dolak, president of the Hawaii Hotel & Visitor Industry Security Association, said security personnel throughout Waikiki hotels were treating the event like a tropical storm. Sandbags were put out to help control flooding in low-lying areas, pools were closed because of lightning strikes, and outdoor events were moved inside. In some cases furniture was moved from lanai or ground-floor guests were relocated from rooms where water could seep in as wind blew the rain sideways.
He said there was flooding along some parts of Kalakaua Avenue, Kalia Road and Paoa Road.
“They are all underwater right now. Cars can get through but they have to go slow,” he said. “We had some winds that blew palm leaves off the trees. It looked like hurricane-force winds if you were looking out the window.”
It wasn’t just visitor stays and activities that were disrupted; visitors also dealt with travel disruptions. Poor visibility from the winter storm in Hawaii caused the redirection of some flights and grounded interisland flights for about an hour Thursday, and drivers across the islands dealt with flooding, downed trees and power outages that affected traffic signals.
Mufi Hannemann, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority board chair and Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association president and CEO, said, “Safety is the first priority. We encourage everyone to practice patience and grace as travel schedules may be disrupted, and to heed the guidance of authorities when it comes to closed beaches, parks and trails. Rain and wind can also make driving hazardous, so visitors should consider postponing outdoor adventures.”
State Transportation Director Ed Sniffen said Thursday afternoon that though the storm was “a lot better than we expected, there’s been a lot of issues that we’ve been dealing with, especially on the airport side.”
“Everybody’s been seeing flights impacted by visibility, especially in Honolulu airport. There have been a number of flights that were redirected to the neighbor islands to land in those different areas to fuel up again before they came back into Honolulu,” Sniffen said. “There was a ground stop that occurred about 12:3o p.m. that held any flights from taking off because of visibility that was pushed out by the tower.”
He said the interisland ground stop ended about 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
“It’s been released. Things are moving again. But I think the big message to the public is that there are still going to be delays for their flight,” Sniffen said. “In addition to the flights coming in, later airlines have to deal with where their crews are, what kind of time frames that their crews started on and how much time that they have left. So in some cases flights will have to be delayed until they can bring in new crews to take on the flight.”
He said there were power issues at Lihue Airport and at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, where a lightning strike triggered a fire alarm. Sniffen said staff also has been taking care of terminal leaks.
“At Honolulu airport we’ve addressed everything. Our power is up and back running solid. We’ve addressed the issues that came with those lightning strikes,” Sniffen said. “On Kauai we have our generator running full time now and making sure that we have power out there. We still don’t have grid power on Kauai yet. We are working with KIUC now to get that back.”
Sniffen advised travelers to check in with their carriers to get updated flight schedules before heading to the airports.
Flash flooding Thursday was ongoing over roads across the islands, forecasters said.
Weather officials warned of flooding in Oahu’s drainage areas, streams, rivers, roads, properties and other low-lying areas. Public road closures are possible in some areas. They warned that landslides were possible in steep terrain.
The National Weather Service advised staying away from streams, drainage ditches and low-lying areas prone to flooding.
City officials Thursday morning closed the Honolulu Zoo in Waikiki due to the heavy rain, which resulted in flooded walkways. Play also was suspended early Thursday afternoon at the city’s six municipal golf courses due to heavy rain and strong wind.
The Mark Takai Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center was closed Thursday, along with numerous city parks on Oahu, including Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden, Wahiawa Botanical Garden, Koko Crater Botanical Garden, Patsy T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park and Hans L’Orange Neighborhood Park.
At about 4:05 p.m. Thursday, officials from the state Department of Transportation reported a tree overhanging Pali Highway at Waokanaka Street, in the Kailua-bound right lane, and hitting cars.
“On the highway side we have been dealing with downed trees in different areas — typical locations like Pali Highway and Hana Highway,” Sniffen said. “Nimitz Highway on Oahu (was flooded). These are all situations because of the storm, but much better than we thought it was going to be.”
City officials closed Kapaa Quarry Road near Mokapu Boulevard due to flooding. The National Weather Service also reported flooding on Fort Weaver Road at Aekai Place on Thursday afternoon.
Hawaii Kai and Kalama Valley in East Oahu experienced severe thunderstorms.
“My friend lives in Hawaii Kai, and she said that she had to wait two hours this morning before she could even drive. The rain was so heavy that cars were parked all over the side of the street,” Finley said. “I think the rains started in Koko Head and worked their way into Waikiki. They went away for a while but returned about 4 p.m. with a vengeance. It was ugly. But hey, we live in Hawaii. My sister’s home on the mainland has snow.”
Heavy showers developed and moved quickly over the southeast-facing slopes of Kau, Puna and South Hilo districts with rain rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. Flooding was expected in Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Volcano, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Glenwood, Mountain View, Wood Valley, Hawaiian Acres, Pahala, Orchidlands Estates, Keaau, Pahoa, Punaluu Beach, Kawa Flats, Papaikou, Naalehu, Pepeekeo, Fern Forest and Eden Roc.
On Maui, Haleakala National Park closed at 10 a.m. Thursday due to worsening conditions and is expected to remain closed through at least noon today. Locations expected to experience flooding include Kaupo, Kipahulu, Hana, Haleakala National Park and Hamoa.
On Kauai, locations expected to experience flooding included Lihue, Kapaa, Kalaheo, Kekaha, Princeville, Kilauea, North Fork Wailua Trails, Alakai Swamp Trails, Lawai, Omao, Kokee State Park, Wailua Homesteads, Hanalei, Hanapepe, Wainiha, Na Pali State Park, Koloa, Haena, Waimea and Wailua.
Sniffen said HIDOT dealt with power outages on Kauai and Maui that affected some of the traffic signals.
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