Hawaii Weather Update: Flash Flood Warning Issued For Kauai, Power Outages Reported

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a flash flood watch for Kauai as lingering moisture from Hurricane Lane continued to bring heavy rains to several parts of Hawaii on Monday.

“Heavy rainfall could result in low spots in roads becoming dangerous and impassable due to severe runoff. Debris in streams and gulches may clog bridges and culverts resulting in dangerous flooding,” the weather service said.

Officials with the Hawaii Department of Transportation said parts of Kuhio Highway, including areas near Wainiha and Hanalei bridges, would remain closed until further notice.

Power outages were reported in Haena and Wainiha, but utility maintenance crews were unable to reach the locations due to the closure of the highway. Parts of the area were flooded too, as seen in a video posted online by someone in the area.

Officials said green waste services at Hanalei and Kapaa transfer stations were closed Monday. The lifeguard towers on Kauai's north shore would also remain closed till further notice, Hawaii News Now reported.

The torrential rains also prompted the state's Department of Education to close Hanalei Elementary on Monday. Students from neighboring schools who live on Kauai's north shore were allowed to go home early and dropped off at their bus stops.

Parts of Big Island received rains up to 2 to 3 inches per hour Monday morning which resulted in a flash flood warning for the island till Monday evening. The Hanalei rain gauge reported a rate over 4 inches an hour Monday morning. Forecasters predicted the Hanalei River to rise significantly by the evening.

Hawaii also created new U.S. rainfall records Monday.

“Preliminary rainfall measurements from the Big Island of Hawaii over the last four days, associated with former Hurricane Lane have produced the third highest storm total rainfall from a tropical cyclone in the US since 1950,” NWS tweeted.

The agency also said the Hilo International Airport got 36.76 inches of rain, making it "the wettest four-day period ever observed at Hilo, with records dating back to 1949.”

The Hawaii Congressional Delegation urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Lane and approve any request for federal funding for recovery needs Monday.

“We write to request your continued assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Lane. Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel on the ground made a huge difference for communities across the state. Now that Lane has passed, these same communities, especially the Hilo side of Hawaii Island, need FEMA’s help to meet their immediate needs of clearing debris and reopening roads, restoring utilities, and providing life-saving assistance,” the delegation wrote.

The weather service forecast drier weather Tuesday.

"Drier, more typical trade wind weather is expected to move in from east to west across the state on Tuesday. With quite comfortable weather expected Wednesday through Friday with noticeably lower humidity levels,” the forecast said.

However, the next storm of the eastern Pacific season, Tropical Storm Miriam, is already on its way to becoming a hurricane. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center said the storm was likely to attain hurricane status by Monday night or Tuesday morning. There were no coastal warnings for the storm as of now.