TWAIN NEWHART / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BULLETIN
A tornado touched down in Kunia at approximately 1:30 p.m. yesterday. There were no reports of damage.
Tornadoes whirl
in Kunia areaThe unstable weather also
spawns sudden thunderstorms
Tornadoes touched down in Central Oahu yesterday as unstable weather produced heavy rain, thunder and lightning throughout the islands.
Storms on the Big Island brought heavy rain, flooding and hail of up to an inch in size, according to a Civil Defense official.
Three Oahu tornadoes were reported in the Kunia area, according to National Weather Service lead forecaster Ray Tanabe.
"It did appear that there was a tornado. ... It was a visible dust cloud that reached all the way to the surface," said Tanabe.
The unusual funnel clouds drew the attention of residents.
"It started to connect from the top, and it disappeared. It started to form again from the bottom," said Ewa Beach resident Regina McAnulty, who grabbed her camera to take pictures of the tornado after she saw it forming about 2 p.m.
Both ends of the dust cloud connected for less than a minute, said McAnulty.
Heavy showers were scattered across Oahu yesterday, prompting flash flood warnings until 10 p.m. for central and windward parts of the island as a stationary band of thundershowers unloaded in the Koolau Mountains above Kaaawa and Waikane last evening. All islands were under a flash flood watch until 4 a.m. today.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
A lone biker made waves along Kaukonahua Road during heavy rains yesterday that soaked parts of Central Oahu. The National Weather Service forecast scattered showers and thundershowers throughout today and into tomorrow.
The sudden thunderstorms formed after heat rising from the central plains merged with unstable weather moving in, said Tanabe.
Heavy rainfall caused minor flooding on the H-2 freeway and in the Waipio area. Schofield Barracks received more than an inch of rain.
An Ewa Beach home on Kemika Place had its roof blown off about 3:30 p.m., said fire Capt. Emmit Kane.
On the Big Island, several utility poles were knocked down in Glenwood, and hail of up to an inch in size was reported in the Kaumana area of Hilo.
Strong winds blew tree branches onto Mamalahoa Highway in Kawalii Gulch in North Hilo and toppled a large tree across the road on Highway 11 in Mountain View, said Big Island Civil Defense Administrator Troy Kindred.
Kamehameha Avenue was closed due to flooding, and one lane remained open in Kawalii Gulch after a landslide, police said. About 33,500 customers across the island lost power during the day; 3,000 were still without power last night.
There were no reports of injuries.
Rainfall was expected on all islands overnight as remnants of a weak front west of Kauai headed toward Oahu and a trough northeast of the state was expected to merge somewhere between Kauai and Oahu.
"It has the possibility to produce heavy showers," said Tanabe.
Scattered showers and thundershowers were forecast for throughout today and into tomorrow, according to the National Weather Service.
