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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 12:10 p.m., Tuesday, March 2, 2004

Rains snarl O'ahu commutes

Kailua resident Kim Wong stands near workers on the Pali Highway removing a tree that fell on her minivan this morning as she was driving into town with her three children. The van’s windshield was smashed, but no one was injured.

Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Overnight rain barely registered on National Weather Service gauges, but explain that to Kim Wong, who was driving down a rain-slick Pali Highway today when a tree popped out of the hillside and crashed onto her van.

"The van, it's totalled," the Kailua mother said over the buzz of chainsaws. "It busted the whole windshield. There is glass all over the inside of the van."

The fallen tree was one of several weather-related problems that closed highways and roads during the morning rush hour.

Both town-bound lanes of the Pali Highway were closed when the tree — which was 30 feet long and a foot in diameter — fell about 6:55 a.m. Townbound traffic was contra-flowed into Kailua-bound lanes while Kailua-bound commuters were diverted onto Nu'uanu Pali Drive.

In Kailua, a small landslide and flooding near the Kapa'a Transfer Station closed Kapa'a Quarry Road at 5:30 a.m.

And in Waikane, Kamehameha Highway was closed in both directions from 3:40 a.m. to about 9 a.m. because of flooding at Waikane Valley Road.

Pieces of the broken windshield in her van left Wong with a few cuts, but none of her three children was injured. She said she had no time to react.

"I couldn't avoid it," she said. "There was no way to get out of the way or anything."

Windward residents reported hard rains last night, but lead forecaster Jeff Powell said the weather service rain gauges did not report significant amounts. No totals were available, he said.

"The rain gauges aren't everywhere," Powell said. "It was a pretty limited event. A rather small area. You probably had some intense rain up and down the coast, but it didn't hit the gauges."

Still, the weather service issued a flash-flood watch for all islands except Kaua'i at 7:45 a.m. and expected it to last until 4 p.m.

"The showers have gone away over O'ahu," he said. "Nothing is imminent."

Showers may form again and many areas are still saturated with rain that fell over the weekend.

A high-surf warning also was posted by the weather service for north- and west-facing shores of Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i and Maui. Waves on north-facing shores will be 20 to 25 feet and occasionally 30 feet. West-facing shores will see waves of 12 to 20 feet.

A high-surf advisory was in effect for north- and west-facing shores of Lana'i and the Big Island. Waves on north-facing shores will be 12 to 20 feet and waves on west-facing shores will be 8 to 10 feet.

The large surf prompted Kaua'i County to close all beaches on the island’s north shore. County lifeguards have reported waves of 40 feet and stormy conditions.

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.