Flash flood warning posted for Big Isle

Heavy rainfall soaking parts of Hawaii island today prompted weather officials to post a flash flood warning for the entire island.

Weather officials at the National Weather Service said radar and rain gauges at 8:15 a.m. indicated heavy rainfall over several areas of Hawaii island. “Flash flooding is expected in low-lying areas from Kailua-Kona to Kealakekua, over the Ahualoa and upper Paauil areas of Hamakua, and over the low-lying sections of Hilo,” forecasters said in a bulletin.

The warning is in effect through 11:15 a.m. today.

As heavy weather battered Oahu Monday, a teenage girl sustained significant injuries tonight as she was struck by a large tree that fell near the intersection of Ala Moana Boulevard and Atkinson Drive.

The girl was one of four people waiting at a bus shelter when the tree fell, according to Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. David Jenkins. The other three people were able to escape without injury. The shelter was badly damaged.

Also earlier Monday evening, lightning reportedly struck a construction crane on Kuhio Avenue. A flood advisory for the entire island of Oahu was lifted at 10:45 p.m.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms associated with a cold front moving down the islands could result in flooding with the greatest potential for rain over Maui County and the Big Island, forecasters said. The front is expected to continue southeast down the island chain from Kauai today, then shift east of the Big Island Wednesday night into Thursday.

“There shouldn’t be any changes with that at this point,” said forecaster Matt Foster Monday afternoon. “We’ve had a couple heavy showers pop up over Oahu, Waianae coast this morning, but it’s been mostly uniform showers coming through.”

Patsy T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park, the Mark K. Takai Veterans’ Memorial Aquatic Center, Kaneohe District Park, and the pool at Palolo Valley District Park also closed Monday due to bad weather.

A high surf advisory for the north facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Maui was also issued this morning and expected to decline overnight, but rise again today and Wednesday with a new, slightly larger, northwest swell. Surf is expected to reach 10 to 15 feet on most isle shores, and 12 to 18 feet on Kauai’s north facing shores. The high surf advisory is in effect until 6 p.m. Wednesday.

A small craft advisory for rough seas was also issued Monday afternoon for northern coastal waters until 6 p.m. Wednesday.

A high wind warning was issued for Big Island summits until 6 p.m. today, with southwest winds of 40 to 60 mph and localized gusts of more than 66 mph along the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Operators of high profile vehicles should drive with caution. Travel to the Big Island summits is not advised until the winds have subsided.

Meanwhile, more than 1,500 Hawaiian Electric customers lost power this afternoon on the North Shore. HECO said the outage occured at 3:41 p.m. in Haleiwa, Waialua Beach, Camp Erdman, Dillingham Airfield and along Farrington Highway, among other areas. Power was restored just after 5:30 p.m. The cause was a downed line due to torrential rain, HECO said.