CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Before going into the water, a group of tourists posed for pictures yesterday at Waikiki Beach. Rough waters and rain kept some tourists off the beaches, and Oahu was spared the heaviest rain yesterday.

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Soggy isles hope
to dry out today

Motorists are forced
to sleep in their cars
on a Kauai highway

Rain, wind and surf turned out to be a tough mix for residents and visitors statewide yesterday but socked Kauai particularly hard with road closures, evacuations and flooding.

About 40 people, mostly residents, had to be evacuated from the Wailua River area in eastern Kauai because of flooding.

People reportedly slept in their cars on the North Shore as Kuhio Highway near the Hanalei Bridge had to be closed because of flooding from the Hanalei River. Closed Wednesday evening about 6:30, the only road to Hanalei and Haena did not reopen until 6:30 a.m.

According to the National Weather Service, Mount Waialeale was hit with the highest 24-hour rain total in the state as of 5:45 p.m. yesterday: 9.4 inches. Wainiha, Kauai, had the second-highest total at 8.28 inches.

Rain on Maui and the Big Island also was heavy with 7 inches at Waiakea and 6 inches at Hilo Airport.

Oahu was spared the heaviest rain yesterday.

Weather service lead forecaster Bob Farrell said moist, unstable and cold air formed big rain clouds.

The rain is supposed to let up today.

"It's settled down for now," Kevin Kodama, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service, said yesterday evening. "There will be some showers but nothing like we had earlier."

But more storms are headed this way. Tropical Storm Jova, about 1,500 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 5 p.m. yesterday, could possibly come close to Hawaii as early as Wednesday.

"We're a small target, you know," Farrell said. "We're not like the Gulf Coast."

But Farrell added, "It's good for people to be prepared."

Hurricane Kenneth, with 75-mph minimal hurricane force winds, is expected to strengthen, and was 2,300 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 5 p.m. yesterday.

When the sun did come out yesterday afternoon, the beaches on nearly half of Kauai were closed, thanks to high surf and muddy runoff.

At Lydgate Park's snorkeling pool on the east side, "You got the whole Wailua River in there," said Kaleo Hookano, a co-supervisor with Kauai Fire Department Ocean Safety. "You could walk across the water right now" with all the debris.

Lydgate and the pool at Salt Pond Beach Park on the southwestern side of Kauai will likely be closed for the rest of the week, Hookano said, as debris that was trapped in the pools is cleared.

Salt Pond also suffered minor damage from high surf that pushed debris past the sand and into picnic areas, county officials said.

The surf also forced the closure of the rest of the south-facing beaches on Kauai, with sets pushing through more than 15 feet tall.

"It's pretty dangerous for people just to be lollygagging," Hookano added.

On the Big Island yesterday, the heavy rain flooded part of Kamehameha Avenue and Bayfront Highway in the downtown Hilo area, forcing police to divert traffic around the area for much of the day, Hawaii County Civil Defense said.

A little-used emergency road through Hawaiian Acres subdivision south of Hilo was also flooded, they said. No damage was reported.