The National Weather Service issued a high-surf warning for north- and east-facing shorelines on all islands through tonight. The surf was not expected to subside until tomorrow.

A high tide near 2 1/2 feet early tomorrow morning could cause coastal flooding, the weather service said.

No injuries or serious damage was reported, however, and depending on your point of view, the surf was either a road-closing nuisance or an awe-inspiring sight.

Debris on the road forced police at 3:28 a.m. to close Kamehameha Highway in both directions between Kualoa Park and Hau'ula Homestead Road for nearly six hours. It was re-opened at 9:15 a.m.

"There is so much junk on the road and in the water — rocks, sand, telephone pole barriers," said John Cummings, a spokesman for O'ahu Civil Defense. "I don’t ever remember the surf being that high in that area. Usually the waves break out by the reef. This is really unusual."

The closure prompted state education officials to close Hau'ula and Ka'a'awa elementary schools.

Punalu'u resident Hannah Sheldon said she was driving through the area after a late-night card came and couldn’t believe what she saw.

"It’s real bad," she said. "The big boulders are on top of the road. At 2 o’clock in the morning I saw waves coming through people’s yards. Terrible. Coming across the road like a river, gushing across the road."

On the other end of the island, city lifeguards this morning closed Hanauma Bay, Makapu'u Beach and Sandy Beach, where waves with 20-foot faces — rarely seen along this coastline — stood above the blue horizon. The waves were so powerful at Hanauma Bay that they lined the beach with rocks and coral.

People watching from the Halona Blowhole lookout were soaked by the tops of crashing waves.

In Kailua Bay, a University of Hawai'i buoy marked swells of 20-feet this morning. Lifeguards reported 15-foot wave faces near the normally tame surf of Flat Island.

The waves carved away much of the beach sand between the boat ramp, which was damaged, and the Kaelepulu Stream mouth.

But just around the point at Lanikai Beach, the waves shoved as much as 3 feet of new sand along the shore. They also jumbled eight canoes, pushing one about 200 feet down the beach.

Mollie Foti, who has lived in Lanikai for 40 years, went to the beach around sunrise and said the ocean was putting on a rare show of power.

"That was shock and awe," she said. "It was all whitewater, my goodness. And breaking waves were coming in. You could surf the shorebreak."

Waves overnight sent surges through several rights of way, some as far as 150 feet. A catamaran was smashed, back yards were layered with sand and chunks of coral were shoved onto the beach.

Harold Garveil said he drove from town to surf Flat Island early this morning. It was a struggle.

"The currents were terrible," he said with a smile. "But it’s kind of fun to see."

At Sandy Beach, no one even tried to get into the water today, but police quickly closed both entrances to the beach park because debris washed over the parking lot. Yesterday, lifeguards had to rescue 40 people caught in six- to eight-foot waves off Sandy Beach and Makapu'u.

"If debris is on the road in the parking lot and people are on the beach, the surge could grab them and pull them out," said city lifeguard Lt. Dwight Perkins.

On Maui, the north shore was being pounded by surf with faces averaging 25 to 30 feet, prompting the closing of beach parks and coastal roads.

Maui County spokeswoman Ellen Pellisaro said wave faces at Baldwin Beach Park reached 40 feet, and parks officials decided to shut the park down through the weekend.

Kama'ole Point Park on the south shore was closed as well, she said.

Closed roads include Kahului Beach Road, the road that circles Kahului Harbor, from Waiehu Beach Road to Wahinepio Road. Also closed in East Maui were Lower Ke'anae, Hana Bay and Haneo'o roads.

Eric Akiskalian of the Association of Professional Towsurfers said due to the angle of the swell, surf heights at Pe’ahi, or Jaws, are not reaching contest levels.

Kaua'i County officials closed beaches on the east and north shores of the island. All beaches between Kalapaki and Ke'e beaches were closed. Officials at some locations reported 30-foot waves.

In Hilo, civil defense authorities kept the Bayfront Highway closed as onlookers gathered to watch the waves. The surf occasionally soaked spectators on the highway as they snapped pictures of more than a dozen surfers catching rides well inside the Hilo Bay breakwater.

Lihiwai Street in Hilo was also closed, and Kalaniana'ole Highway at Richardson’s Ocean Park Beach was closed to all but the local Keaukaha traffic.

In Puna, the road to Kumukahi Lighthouse on the easternmost tip of the Big Island was closed, and county fire officials reported some damage to two homes in the Maku'u Drive area of Hawaiian Paradise Park, said Lanny Nakano, assistant administrator for county civil defense.

Campers from King’s Landing remained in a shelter at Aunty Sally Kaleohano’s Lu'au Hale, and Nakano said authorities also planned to reopen a shelter at the Pahoa Community Center for any Puna residents who might need assistance.

A string of Big Island beach parks was closed on the northwest side of the island, including Onekahakaha, Kealoha, Leleiwi, Lili'uokalani, Coconut Island, Richardson’s, Honoli'i, Kolekole and Laupahoehoe Point. In Kohala, Keokea Beach Park was also closed.

Lloyd Narimatsu, assistant chief for the Big Island Fire Department, said five homes along Beach Road in Hawaiian Paradise Park in Puna were damaged by the high surf.

In three cases the surf shattered windows and sent seawater surging inside, and in the two other cases the damage was caused by water rushing round the structures, Narimatsu said.

There was no dollar estimate of the damage yet, Narimatsu said.