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Strong wind whipped across the islands Wednesday, with occasional gusts
of 50 to 60 mph, resulting in power outages, numerous road closures and toppled trees.
The National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory for the entire state, which was in place until midnight Wednesday.
Forecasters warned of strong and gusty southwest-
to-west winds of 25 to
35 mph, and localized gusts over 50 mph, due to a strong cold front sweeping through the islands.
That wind was expected to diminish early this morning, but not before battering the islands.
At about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, NWS measured a peak gust of 61 mph at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe, according to meteorologist Thomas Vaughan.
Strong gusts aren’t uncommon in Hawaii, Vaughan said, but blustery breezes out of the south to southwest are.
“Typically we have tradewinds coming from the east or northeast direction and these are all coming from the opposite direction, from the south to southwest,” he said. “Certain areas that
normally don’t see the
strongest winds are experiencing it this time because of the change in direction.”
The wind knocked out power for tens of thousands of customers across Hawaiian Electric’s service areas Wednesday — from Waimea on Hawaii island to Haiku and Upcountry Maui, and throughout Oahu.
The power outages resulted in the closure of
Kohala elementary, middle, and high schools on Hawaii island. Some other schools asked parents to pick up their kids early or had to cancel after-school programs.
Wind continued to knock out power in nearly every region of Oahu throughout the day. At about 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, about 13,495 customers in Kaneohe were without power.
This was in addition to thousands of other customers in Kailua, Hauula, Salt Lake, Kunia, Diamond Head, Aina Haina and other areas of Oahu, according to Hawaiian Electric’s Oahu outage map.
“The high winds have kept our crews extremely busy responding to outages and working safely to restore power across the five islands we serve,” said Hawaiian Electric spokesperson Alan Yonan in an email. “They’ll continue working through the night to bring as many customers back online as possible.”
Hawaii County shortly before 5 p.m. asked residents to stay off roadways and shelter in place as the wind also resulted in malfunctioning traffic signal lights across the island.
Earlier in the day, fallen trees blocked lanes along several portions of Highway 11, according to the state Department of
Transportation.
The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative also said it experienced some morning outages, including in Princeville, Koloa and Kapaa, where power was later restored.
Weather officials had warned that the saturated ground, along with the unusual direction of the wind, would make falling trees or landslides more likely.
The Honolulu Fire Department said between Tuesday and 10 a.m. Wednesday, it responded to a fallen power line, three blown roofs and 11 toppled trees.
Honolulu Ocean Safety on Wednesday afternoon performed 10 rescues and more than 1,500 preventative actions on north and east shores.
Lifeguards also rescued five stand-up paddlers from near the Mokulua Islands after they called 911 because they were unable to get back to shore against the high wind.
On Tuesday, lifeguards rescued a visitor from France from the water behind the Mokulua after her kayak tipped over in high wind, along with a good Samaritan who suffered lacerations trying to help her.
There were numerous closures resulting from either the high wind or power outages.
Kauai County officials closed Morgan’s Pond and the surrounding area at Lydgate Beach on Wednesday to remove debris from recent storms, and advised the public to avoid areas with large trees at its parks due to safety concerns.
Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation officials closed Koko Crater and Wahiawa botanical gardens on Oahu, along with several swimming pools, due to the wind and power outages.
On Maui, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources reported that strong wind knocked two boats loose from their moorings Tuesday night.
One 45-foot boat remains grounded about 50 yards from the breakwall outside Lahaina Harbor, according to the DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, awaiting salvage today, while a 30-foot sailboat remains about 30 yards off of the breakwater at 1405 Front St.
NWS meteorologist Vaughan said wind should be on the lighter side over the next few days. Dry, cool conditions are expected today through the weekend.
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