Mother nature put on a show that was harrowing for some, spectacular for others, Saturday night in skies above Kaua‘i. During the period between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., there were 260 lightning strikes associated with a fast-moving storm that
Mother nature put on a show that was harrowing for some, spectacular for others, Saturday night in skies above Kaua‘i.
During the period between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., there were 260 lightning strikes associated with a fast-moving storm that swept across Kaua‘i from Kekaha to Wailua during that time, according to Brad Fujii of the National Weather Service on O‘ahu.
High winds accompanied the storm, which was moving at 40 mph, west to east, and NWS spotters at Princeville reported rain being blown horizontally by winds which reached speeds of between 50 mph and 60 mph.
The wind blew down some smaller trees and branches across the island, but resulted only in scattered power outages across the island, though one Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative trouble-call crew was out for over 12 hours, from midnight Sunday until yesterday afternoon, restoring power in various areas of the island.
During the severe thunderstorm warning period, roughly the same time as when the lightning show was the main attraction, NWS forecasters warned of the potential of waterspouts and quarter-sized hail, sounding the hurricane-esque warning for people to stay away from windows and take cover in interior rooms of well-built homes.
There were no reports of hail or waterspouts from Kaua‘i spotters, Fujii said. Forecasters were able to predict to within minutes which parts of the island would bear the brunt of the storm’s wrath, with the storm’s center over Port Allen at 9 p.m., over Po‘ipu at 9:10 p.m., and six miles south of Lihu‘e at 9:20 p.m.
The storm did dump heavy rains on much of the island during that brief period of wild weather, and for the 12-hour period ending at 8 a.m. yesterday, Hanapepe got 1.28 inches of rain, Kapahi received 1.27 inches of rain, Lihu‘e Airport was drenched with 1.24 inches.
Anahola had 1.19 inches of rain, Wailua had 1.08 inches, Moloa‘a received just under one inch (0.99 inches), Port Allen had 0.88 inches, Koke‘e recorded 0.87 inches of rain, and the normally dry spots of Po‘ipu (0.54 inches) and Makaha Ridge (0.63 inches) also received substantial amounts of rain.
Kalaheo, Princeville and Hanalei all received nearly three-quarters of an inch of rain over that same period.
Fujii said the forecast for Kaua‘i today is for much tamer weather, with just isolated showers through Wednesday, and winds from the northwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour.
Paul C. Curtis, associate editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
