The troubled times for Pali Highway continued Sunday with heavy rain leading to a mudslide and fallen trees that blocked one lane for most of the day.

The right lane of the highway, Kailua-bound, was closed after the tunnels at the hairpin turn around 10:24 a.m.

Crews cleaned up mud and debris and reopened the road around 6:24 p.m.

The National Weather Service said at 1 p.m. Sunday that 14.8 inches of rain fell in the previous 48 hours in upper Nuuanu.

The area is typically windy and rainy, and tall trees line the highway.

Sunday was the latest in a series of weather- related closures of Pali Highway that has made life a little more difficult for the 50,000 drivers who use the road daily.

A rockslide closed the Kailua-bound lanes of the Pali for most of Christmas Day near the tunnels. The road reopened later that evening.

The highway was also closed on New Year’s Day for the removal of two trees on slopes above it. The trees were found with loosened root systems during an inspection, and state officials said they were compromised by high wind and rain on Christmas Day.

After the Christmas Day event, Ed Sniffen, Department of Transportation deputy director for highways, said in a news release, “While the newly added impact fencing above the tunnel portals has proven to reduce the impacts of these increasingly frequent weather events on the highway below, we are planning to remove this potential threat.”

The big Pali trouble began Feb. 18 when a large rockslide occurred from above Old Pali Road onto the highway fronting the second town-bound tunnel of the Pali, injuring a woman, 43, and two girls, ages 9 and 2.

An emergency proclamation was issued shortly afterward that designated the area a disaster, and the state provided relief for the damage and preventive measures.

The state Department of Transportation completely or partially closed the highway for 10 months to remove loose material from the slopes, put up fencing and netting, created a rock shed structure over one of the tunnel entrances where the rockfall occurred, and make other highway improvements. That work was completed in early December.

Meanwhile, electrical and median work continues on Pali Highway in Nuuanu, which means continued lane closures in that area.