Pause to precede new storms

Hawaii residents and visitors will get a bit of a reprieve from the drenching rains this weekend but may still be feeling the aftereffects of recent flooding that touched off sewage spills and a statewide brown-water advisory.

Meanwhile, officials are encouraging residents to prepare for Hurricane Ignacio, a Category 1 hurricane, heading toward Hawaii.

On Thursday, rainfall was light compared with the downpours that caused flooding Wednesday. Waiawa and Honouliuli received a little over an inch of rain in the three hours ending at 5 p.m. Some minor flooding occurred on roadways.

A flash flood watch remains in effect for Kauai, Niihau, Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Lanai until 6 p.m. Friday. The National Weather Service said heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms could develop rapidly as the land heats up during the late morning and early afternoon.

Meanwhile the Honolulu Fire Department suspended its search Thursday afternoon for a 47-year-old woman who was swept down Nuuanu Stream during a flash flood.

Fire Capt. David Jenkins said HFD divers Thursday searched a pool just below the area where the woman, identified by police as Michelle Hahn, was pulled downstream at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Jenkins said she and three others were camping under a bridge at the Liliuokalani Botanical Gardens on Wednesday when the four of them were swept away. The three others were rescued.

Firefighters searched along the shoreline on both sides of the stream down to Honolulu Harbor but found no signs of the woman Thursday, and suspended their search at 2 p.m. pending any new information.

A Coast Guard boat, which happened to be doing training in the area, did a cursory search of Honolulu Harbor in the area where the stream meets the ocean, said Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooers. However, the Coast Guard was not formally asked to do a search, she said.

Police describe Hahn as 5 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 115 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.

At 5 p.m. Hurricane Ignacio was 975 miles east-southeast of Hilo, heading west-northwest toward the islands at 13 mph with 90 mph maximum sustained winds.

“Ignacio is forecast to be weakening as it gets closer to us,” said weather service forecaster Derek Wroe.

Hurricanes Iwa and Dot, both destructive, were Category 1 hurricanes.

A Category 1 hurricane has sustained winds of 74 to 95 mph. Some damage to buildings could occur, primarily to unanchored structures such as school portables, the weather service says. Flying debris can also pose a risk, the agency added.

“Numerous large branches of healthy trees will snap,” uprooting some trees where the ground is saturated, it said.

The weekend weather will have average temperatures, but high humidity will make things feel warmer than they are, Wroe said.

In Hilo on Thursday the high temperature broke the record for the date. The high of 89 degrees broke the record of 88 degrees set in 2006, the weather service said.

Warning signs remained up Thursday at Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor, Kewalo Basin and the stormwater outfall at the far west side of Kakaako Waterfront Park in the wake of a sewage spill Monday.

Samples taken Wednesday showed an improvement in water quality in the affected areas, but the state Clean Water Branch is keeping the signs up for the time being. Water quality testing within those areas will continue, a news release said.

Surfers and boaters also are advised that offshore waters might continue to be contaminated by storm runoff, particularly near harbor entrances and drainage canals.

The state remains under a brown-water advisory because of the recent rain. Brown water could have pollutants such as fertilizer and animal feces, DOH officials warn.

Ala Moana Beach Park and Waikiki Beach, which were closed Monday, reopened Wednesday after test results indicated nearshore waters had not been affected by sewage gushing into the ocean during Monday’s rainstorm. City officials also revised their initial estimate of a 500,000-gallon spill to 129,000 gallons.