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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
Rain poured down motorists driving on South King Street near University Avenue.
COURTESY NOAA
Doppler radar at 11:10 a.m. showed localized showers falling at a rate of about one inch an hour as part of a front that’s moving eastward across Oahu.
A cold front moving across the islands brought strong winds and rain to parts of Oahu today and heavy showers to Maui where it moved this evening.
Meanwhile, ocean safety officials warned of an incoming large swell.
A flood advisory was in effect for Maui until 8:15 p.m., the National Weather Service said.
At 5:22 p.m., the leading edge of the front was moving onto Maui, bringing locally heavy showers to much of the island and rain at the rate of 1 to 2 inches an hour to south- and west-facing slopes, the Weather Service said.
In addition, a wind advisory remained in effect through midnight tonight for parts of Lanai, Maui, and Hawaii island. Forecasters warned of 20 to 30 mph winds with gusts of up to 50 mph.
The National Weather Service said the strong winds can result in power outages, downed trees, damaged roofs, and difficulty driving.
At 5 p.m., winds were 23 mph and gusts were 33 mph at Kahului Airport, the Weather Service said.
Besides the wind advisory, a high wind warning was also in effect until 6 p.m. Wednesday for Big Island summits. Forecasts said winds there could reach 50 to 70 mph with 75 mph gusts.
Most of the wind-related calls on Oahu were on the Windward side, centering in Kaneohe and Kailua, said Honolulu Fire Department Capt. David Jenkins.
He said firefighters responded to 37 wind-related emergencies from 1 p.m. Sunday to 4 p.m. today.
They include the following:
Nineteen blown roofs, seven downed trees and 10 electrical hazards, downed power lines and arcing wires.
Arcing wires caused a small brush fire in Kahaluu, Jenkins said.
No major damage had occurred, he said, and added that calls continued to come in after 4 p.m, but at a slower pace.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service canceled a flood advisory for Oahu. When the advisory was in effect this morning, Doppler radar showed rain falling at a rate of an inch an hour across parts of Oahu.
A high surf advisory remained in effect through 6 p.m. Wednesday for north- and west-facing shores of Oahu, Niihau, Kauai and Molokai, north-facing shores of Maui, and west-facing shores of the Big Island.
Weather officials said surf would rise to warning-level surf of 22 to 28 feet by late tomorrow.
Ocean Safety officials asked the public to be careful and expect strong breaking waves and currents that make swimming dangerous.
Earlier this morning, Hawaiian Electric Co. crews continued restoring wind-related power outages to customers primarily in Windward Oahu.
Pockets of wind-related outages started Sunday, aggravating many who were without power during the Super Bowl broadcast.
“We really apologize,” said HECO spokeswoman Sharon Higa.
Fewer than 1,000 customers in Kaneohe were still without power this morning. Crews have also responded to pocket outages in Kailua, Hawaii Kai, Portlock, Kahaluu and Ahuimanu.
Yes it is a red flag when routine winter winds cause power outages to the degree that they have. First a strong high pressure the other week and yesterday gusty south west winds ahead of a front. These events happen all the time and one would hope our elec. grid system could handle. What happens when there is a real storm? PUC and Consumer Advocate where are you in holding HECO’s feet to the fire on this? Grid reliability is a big deal.
Since the paper featured an article on the weather, it would have been helpful if the forecast had been included (especially the wind direction for Tuesday).
Today is Tuesday, Feb 7th. This is yesterday’s news. Give us current information.