Windy weather will
ease, but it won't
blow awayTomorrow is expected to be wet
and blustery but winds will
be 'tolerable'WEATHER PAGE
Star-Bulletin staffWinds of 20 to 45 mph, with stronger gusts, continued today to buffet the islands, after toppling an electric pole yesterday and cutting service to about 2,000 Oahu customers.
However, a "noticeable decrease" in the winds is predicted by the National Weather Service. High wind warnings issued at 10 a.m. yesterday were expected to be canceled sometime late today.
A cold front with blustery winds, rains and cooler temperatures that was stalled over Hawaii the past few days has moved largely over Kauai, lead weather forecaster Roy Matsuda said today.
"But it's going to make a move back," he warned, adding that some North Shore areas probably were getting some showers today.
Wet, windy weather was expected to continue through tomorrow, but winds will be "tolerable" tomorrow and the weekend will be better, he said.
"We're definitely on a downtrend," Matsuda said, explaining the returning moisture band will be thinner and weaker.
High winds yesterday knocked down a Hawaiian Electric Co. pole in the 900 block of Kalihi Street, makai of King Street. Power was lost just before 1 p.m. and was restored by 4:30 p.m.
Although the downed pole also supported telephone lines, telephone service was not disrupted.
Heco repair crews have been kept busy since Thursday because of the high winds.
But no major problems were reported today. "There have been only 20 to 30 incidents, but no major outages caused by the gusting winds," said Heco spokesman Fred Kobashikawa.
Meanwhile, temperatures were expected to climb between 75 and 80 degrees today and into the 80s by Thursday and Friday.