The recent run of vexing weather continued Friday as heavy rain and lightning resulted in road closures, power failures, event cancellations and a host of other problems across Oahu.
A flash-flood watch remains in effect for Oahu, Kauai and Niihau through Saturday afternoon as moisture associated with former Tropical Cyclone Jimena and a trough aloft northwest of the state are expected to further produce locally heavy showers.
Oahu bore the worst of the rainy weather Friday.
The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory for the island just before 2 a.m. The advisory was initially to have expired at 4:30 a.m. but was extended several times from morning to evening. A flash-flood warning was added at about 10:45 a.m. and also extended throughout the day.
In the 12-hour period ending 5 p.m. Friday, rain gauges recorded 4.68 inches of rain in Moanalua and 4.17 inches at Punaluu Stream. Kahana recorded 2.79 inches of rain over the same period.
Weather radar also detected heavy rain over Windward Oahu, Pearl City, Aiea, Waipio and other areas.
The threat of ponding and flooding was exacerbated by ground already saturated by recent heavy rain.
Friday evening, the city closed Kamehameha Highway at Waikane Bridge due to water on the roadway, but reopened it hours later.
The Honolulu Police Department issued multiple warnings via its social media platforms advising drivers to proceed cautiously due to heavy ponding around Dillingham Boulevard, Alakawa Street and other roadways.
On the H-3 freeway a lightning strike is believed to have triggered sensors to halt traffic heading into the Harano Tunnels.
DOT spokesman Tim Sakahara said operators at the H-3 operation center, manned 24/7, reported hearing loud thunder at 1:36 p.m. Friday at the time the sensors went off, and that lightning may have struck.
Red lights halted both lanes of traffic into the tunnel, causing vehicles to stop momentarily, Sakahara said.
Operators checked and found no vehicle exceeding height limits and manually turned the signals off, allowing traffic to flow again.
Hawaiian Electric Co. crews were kept busy by a pair of significant outages.
Some 2,220 HECO customers in Kaneohe were affected by an outage first reported at 10:20 a.m. HECO crews were able to fully restore service within an hour.
In Aiea an outage interrupted service to 1,450 HECO customers. The outage was reported at 3:05 p.m. and repaired by 3:30 p.m.
The Department of Emergency Management approved the emergency use of heavy machinery at the Kaelepulu Stream mouth in Kailua Beach Park to remove debris and clear an accumulated sandbar. A crew from the Department of Facility Maintenance was scheduled to use a large excavator to open the stream mouth above the high-water mark late Friday afternoon.
The state Department of Health’s Clean Water Branch issued a brown-water advisory for the state due to stormwater runoff entering coastal waters. The public is advised to stay out of floodwaters and stormwater runoff due to possible contamination from overflowing cesspools, sewers, manholes, pesticides, animal fecal matter, dead animals, pathogens, chemicals and associated flood debris.
Brown-water advisories were also issued individually for Hawaii island (Honolii to Hilo Bay), Kauai (Hanalei to Wailua) and Oahu.
Forecasters predict passing showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms as a moist air mass lingers over the state. Wind is expected to be light and variable favoring an east-southeasterly direction.
High pressure will be building to the north early next week with a more typical tradewind weather pattern returning, according to the weather service. Clouds and passing showers will then favor windward and mauka areas with a few showers possible over some leeward locations.
Friday’s bad weather prompted several closures and cancellations, including the Get Ready Kailua Emergency Preparedness Town Fair scheduled for Saturday.
The football game between Castle and Kahuku high schools, scheduled for Kahuku’s home field, was canceled.
The Honolulu Zoo closed early Friday but was expected to reopen Saturday. Zoo officials said the “Keiki in the Kitchen” event will be held as scheduled Saturday.
Waipio Soccer Complex and Central Oahu Regional Park are closed for the entire weekend due to flooding. Department of Parks and Recreation staff have been calling permitted users to inform them of the closure.
The Manana Neighborhood Park pool also closed Friday due to concerns about lightning. It was expected to reopen Saturday.
