More heavy rain soaks Central O'ahu
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
Another heavy afternoon downpour in Central O'ahu caused a mudslide that closed Kamehameha Highway between Wahiawa and Mililani for several hours yesterday.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
But a weather official predicts that the drenching rains in Waipi'o, Mililani and Waiawa will likely end today with the return of 10- to 20-mph tradewinds.
Heavy rains yesterday triggered a mudslide that closed Kamehameha Highway between Waikalani Road and Leilehua Golf Course Road between Mililani and Wahiawa. Two inches of rain fell in Mililani in two hours.
Rain gauges in parts of Central O'ahu showed more than two inches of rain fell between 1 and 2:30 p.m., said Bob Farrell, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service. Waipi'o received 2.07 inches of rain, Mililani 2.28 inches and Waiawa 1.29 inches in less than two hours, Farrell said.
The centralized showers are a result of light winds and hot temperatures, Farrell said.
"You get a lot of heating during the day and that heats the air over the island," Farrell said. "It starts to rise, forming clouds, and then the air flows in from the ocean to replace it.
"This sets up an engine that creates heavy showers, mainly in the center of the island," he said.
Although the rainfall was brief, it was accompanied by thunder and lightning and caused a mudslide that scattered debris onto Kamehameha Highway between Wahiawa and Waikalani Drive in Mililani.
A private land owner who did excavation work near the highway didn't set up a berm — a sloped barrier that's meant to prevent runoff — which contributed to the mudslide, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.
Police closed the road at about 2 p.m. and reopened it about 7 p.m., after a water truck from the state Department of Transportation sprayed away the mud.
On Saturday afternoon, Central O'ahu was also hit by torrential rains and what weather officials said was a funnel cloud that touched the ground.
Despite such problems, some Central O'ahu residents said they didn't mind the wet weather.
"I like it because we need the rain," said Wahiawa resident Lani Eshelman. "It waters the grass and the city complains we need water."
Don Crockett, owner of Fantastic Sam's in Wahiawa Shopping Center, said the rain was good for business.
"People can't go to the beach, so they're coming in to get their hair done," Crockett said with a smile. "So it's a plus for us."
Reach Zenaida Serrano Espanol at zespanol@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8174.
