A cold front working its way across the island chain Tuesday brought with it showers and gusty winds that sent several boats aground, downed trees that left thousands of customers without power on Oahu, and apparently shook a tree branch lose that injured an elderly couple in Waikiki.
While showers and winds ease up today, a high-surf warning covering Kauai to Maui remains in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday with wave-face heights peaking at 25 to 35 feet Wednesday and diminishing into Thursday, forecasters said. The warning covers north and west shores of Niihau and Kauai, and north shores of Oahu, Molokai and Maui. Surf will peak at 18 to 22 feet along west-facing shores of Oahu and Molokai.
Residents can expect more sunshine today with tradewinds returning Thursday, then lasting into next week, the Weather Service said.
Gusty winds caused several boats to run aground the past two days, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Five vessels were in distress off Maui, beginning Monday morning with the 29-foot sailing vessel, Little Lady, south of Lahaina. On Tuesday the 60-foot Hawaiian Rafting Adventures vessel Pacific Maid ran aground about 8:30 a.m. The 62-foot catamaran Aikane X5 was grounded after the captain lost power and control of the vessel at 11:17 a.m. off Kaanapali. Then less than 15 minutes later, reports came in about a small sailboat that sank in about 30 feet of water, 300 yards off Lahaina Harbor. The Molokai Boy, a 35-foot motor vessel, was dragging its anchor about 150 feet from shore at Mala.
On Oahu a 32-foot, multihulled boat was beached at about 11 a.m. on the Portlock side of the Hawaii Kai exit channel.
Winds from the west were blowing "pretty hard" on Oahu, and vessels were "rocking from side to side, causing the anchor lines … to drag," said Meghan Statts, DLNR’s Oahu boating district manager, in a news release.
Strong winds were to blame for power failures on Oahu after a tree downed an electrical line in Manoa before dawn, cutting power to about 150 customers, and winds blew trees into power lines in Kaneohe shortly after noon, leaving about 2,300 people without power for about two hours, said Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Darren Pai.
Gusty winds also apparently caused a banyan tree branch to fall and hurt a couple from the mainland at International Market Place in Waikiki. Police said the dead branch was about 8 feet long and 3 inches in diameter but weighed less than 10 pounds. The woman, 73, sustained a cut on her head after the branch fell on her, and she fell over and hit her husband, 71, who fell and hurt his leg, police said. Paramedics took the couple to the hospital in serious condition.
"It came down when it was windy," said Rick Harmon, an activities salesman, adding, "A lot of debris also came down."
