Posted at 9:59 a.m., Monday, October 31, 2005
Windward side under flood advisory
Advertiser Staff
The National Weather Service has issued a urban and small stream flood advisory for portions of the Windward O'ahu shoreline from Kahuku to Waikane.Heavy overnight rains resulted in ponding on Kamehameha Highway and rock slides onto the highway in several areas along the coastline.
The flood advisory will remain in effect until 10:30 a.m. and may be extended if the heavy rains persist.
At 7:30 a.m. radar images continued to show moderate rainfall over the Windward Coast. Additional heavy rain will cause streams to rise rapidly, Weather Service forecasters said. They urged campers and hikers in particular to be aware of possibly dangerous weather conditions and to stay away from streams and low lying areas.
They also warned motorists no to try to cross fast flowing or rising water in their vehicles or on foot.
Ray Tanabe, a Weather Service forecaster, said the area between Ka'a'awa and Hau'ula was hardest hit by the rain. A rain gauge in Punalu'u recorded 10.58 inches during the 12-hour period between 8 p.m. last night and 8 a.m. this morning.
While their are no rain gauges along the upper slopes of the Ko'olau Mountain Range, rainfall in those areas for the 12-hour period was estimated at 12-to-15 inches based upon radar images, Tanabe said.
"Our office has received a number of reports of water flowing over the highway along the Windward Coast, but so far as we know no roads have been closed," Tanabe said.
The rain resulted largely from a shift in the wind overnight with it blowing out of the southeast toward O'ahu from Moloka'i, Tanabe said. The moisture laden air built up against — and slid along — the Ko'olaus, resulting in steady rain throughout the night with occasional downpours between midnight and 5 a.m., Tanabe said.
