Hawaii braces for flooding as thunderstorms, snow pound the Aloha State

A strong cold front is triggering Flood Warnings and even Winter Weather Alerts across Hawaii on Wednesday as storms are bringing ample precipitation.

These storms are producing torrential rain, thunderstorms, strong winds and even some mountain snow across the Aloha State.

The National Weather Service in Honolulu says that a wintry mix with 1 to 3 inches of snow is possible, along with a chance of freezing rain and winds gusting as high as 55 mph, for the Big Island Summits until 6 a.m. local time Thursday.

Hawaiians should plan for slippery road conditions and low visibility.

The NWS also said heavy rain and winds were expected mainly along and ahead of the cold front that moved through Kauai Tuesday night and pushed into Oahu Wednesday morning.

The front is expected to reach the islands in Maui County and the Big Island by Thursday.

Areas of flash flooding caused by the excessive rainfall would continue through at least Wednesday afternoon, and the NWS has issued a Flood Watch for Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island.

Forecasters stressed that roads and low–lying areas might be closed due to the excessive rain runoff and overflowing streams, while urban areas may receive a more significant flood threat and property damage due to rapid runoff.

A 7-mile stretch of Hawaii Highway 11 in Ka’u on Hawaii’s Big Island was closed due to flooding. In Oahu, a downed tree briefly shut down the Pali Highway, according to the Hawaii Department of Transportation.

The NWS said the heaviest rain activity Tuesday night into Wednesday morning over Oahu saw rainfall rates of 2-3 inches an hour with total accumulations so far of 2 inches to as much as 10 inches in the higher terrain based on both rain gauges and radar estimates. 

In addition, southeasterly winds over the Big Islandr produced a band of moderate to heavy rain along the southeastern slopes across typically drier areas of the Ka’u and Puna Districts.

The NWS said strong wind gusts around 50 mph were reported in areas north of island mountains on Oahu and Molokai. Peak wind gusts between 40 and 50 mph are possible across the same terrain-favored areas along the northern slopes in Maui County on Wednesday.  

Wind gusts near 40 mph are possible across some areas of the Big Island.

Calmer weather was expected to fill in rapidly behind the front for the western half of the state by Thursday.