Breezy conditions will prevail today following an exceptionally windy Thursday with high-wind advisories and warnings across the state.
A strong high-pressure system just north of the state is expected to move east, causing winds to decrease today, said National Weather Service lead forecaster Pete Donaldson. A wind advisory remains in effect until 6 a.m. today, and a high-wind warning will remain in effect until
6 a.m. today for Kohala on Hawaii island.
The strongest gusts clocked by Weather Service gauges were in the Oahu Forest Refuge above Mililani at 70 mph and in Kawaihae with 51 mph gusts, “but it’s been windy from the north to the south and the east to the west,” Donaldson said.
Blown roofs and downed power lines and trees made for an eventful Thursday on Oahu.
The Honolulu Fire Department responded to four blown roofs, three downed trees and two downed power lines.
When firefighters responded to a call from a
single-family home at
1316 Ward Ave., “a large piece of the roof had blown off,” roughly a 10-by-10-foot section, said fire Capt. Scot
Seguirant.
And about five to six smaller pieces were “flying onto the freeway, which could have caused a bigger issue,” he said.
Firefighters removed loose matter and tried to
secure the remainder of the roof, Seguirant said.
Two utility poles were down at 1522 Keeaumoku St. near Makiki District Park, knocking out power to
960 Hawaiian Electric Co. customers.
Power was restored by the afternoon to most of its customers.
About 176 customers were expected to have
their power restored late Thursday, HECO spokeswoman Shannon Tangonan said.
One of the poles landed against a small apartment building, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
About 420 Kalihi Valley HECO customers lost service, which was restored by 2:10 p.m.
The Fire Department received its first wind-related alarm of the day at 4:31 a.m. from Manoa for a downed tree. Two more downed trees were located in Kahala and McCully.
Firefighters assisted with three other blown roofs in Waimanalo, McCully and Manoa.
