Years of mild winters end with weather wake-up call
| • | Power out for many today |
| • | Photo gallery: Strong winds, rain hit Islands |
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Those who think Hawai'i's weather never changes haven't been living here for the past couple of months.
Yesterday's high winds, high surf and heavy rains were the latest installment of a winter weather blitz that has included hail, snow, wind, surf and enough rain to flood businesses and crops, loosen boulders, destroy telephone service, down power lines, close roads and send sewage pouring onto O'ahu's beaches.
"Compared to recent years, the weather has been active," said National Weather Service forecaster Hans Rosendal.
While given to understatement, Rosendal is pointing out that the state has been in a drought the last few years. Even with heavy rains last month, rainfall totals at Honolulu Airport were well below annual averages. "It's just that we've had so many quiet, dry winters lately," he said.
El Nino weather patterns led to the state's five-year drought. The increased wetness, he said, has been a break in the pattern.
Winter weather has been dramatic since November.
High winds Nov. 19 gusted 50 miles per hour or more in places, ripping up trees, downing power lines and yanking up roofing materials. In the days that followed, high surf pounded eastern shores, flooding homes and tearing decks off oceanside houses.
By Nov. 24, enough rain had fallen to lead the Board of Water Supply, citing "cautious optimism," to lift voluntary irrigation and conservation measures implemented after Oahu's water supply fell dangerously low.
On Nov. 29, the rain was falling so heavily it caused minor rock slides, road closures and sporadic flooding of streams into houses and other buildings. It kept raining.
On Dec. 1, O'ahu residents were buying tarps and submersible pumps as the rain continued. Lightning struck a house in Kane'ohe, blowing a 2-foot hole in the roof. On the Big Island, three to four inches of snow fell on Mauna Kea, and residents began to lose phone service across the state as water leaked into underground cables.
On Dec. 7, Moanalua Stream overflowed its banks during a night of heavy rain, turning nearby Moanalua Freeway into a lake. A number of Mapunapuna businesses, were flooded, causing damage estimated at $20 million.
Then the weather backed off for a while, and the city took advantage of the calm to clear 17 truckloads of green waste and 16 truckloads of silt from troublesome Moanalua Stream.
The weather started acting up again as the year drew to an end. On Dec. 28, Mauna Kea was covered in snow once more, and Leeward residents on O'ahu and Kaua'i were reporting hail falling along with rain.
Rain and high winds continued intermittently across the state, keeping New Year's Eve fireworks damage comparatively low after rain fell most of the afternoon and evening.
On Jan. 2, Mother Nature returned in full force, sending heavy rains that flooded homes and triggered landslides. Lake Wilson's waters rose frighteningly near its banks, and state officials kept a close watch in case they had to evacuate residents. The overload of water caused raw sewage to leak across O'ahu, prompting state officials to close beaches and waterways across the island for several days.
Shortly after that, Department of Transportation officials announced that the number of potholes on O'ahu's roads had increased tenfold.
Tourism didn't seem to be affected by the downpours and storms, said Rex Johnson, president and CEO of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.
"Its amazing," he said. "People come to Hawai'i in the dead of winter to escape the weather on the Mainland. Sure, they would like every day to be a perfect day, but a little rain beats the heck out of zero-degree weather."
Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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