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As the fringe of Tropical Storm Iselle moves away from Oahu, Kauai will begin to feel the impacts by early evening, according to the National Weather Service.
Mike Cantin, National Weather Service meteorologist, said Iselle is now "a low end tropical impact storm."
It has "weakened and continues to weaken," he said.
Cantin said the core of the storm will pass south of both Kauai and Oahu, about 60 to 100 miles.
"We will see only fringes of it," Cantin said.
That means heavy rains followed by winds strong enough to topple trees and utility poles. However, no coastal evacuations have been issued.
Kauai county officials staged emergency personnel and equipment north of the Hanalei River in case of flooding.
The Port of Nawiliwili remains open, but land operations have been temporarily suspended.
All county beach parks were closed.
Kauai County workers reported to work Friday, but were released at noon.
All of the county’s refuse transfer stations and the Kekaha Landfill will close at 2 p.m. Resumption of operations at these facilities will be determined by the impact of the approaching storms.
Residential garbage pick-up is continuing as scheduled today.
The Hanalei refuse transfer station is not accepting green waste at least until Tuesday due to the facility reaching its permitted capacity. Anyone wanting to dispose of their green waste can take it to the Kapaa or Lihue transfer station.
The four HI-5 bottle redemption centers that are operated by Kaua’i Community Recycling Services will be closed until Monday. The Lihue Sunshine Market is cancelled for today.
With the anticipated arrival of Tropical Storm Iselle, Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr., representatives from county, state and federal agencies on the island, including FEMA, along with other entities involved in emergency response convened Friday morning in the Kauai Emergency Operations Center in Lihue.
"All of the government agencies as well as others are working together to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors," said Carvalho. "We ask the public to be vigilant, stay tuned to the National Weather Service or the local media for updates, and to take care of their families, friends and neighbors — especially their kupuna."
