Heavy Rain Pounds Oahu, Molokai, Lanai

HONOLULU -- Heavy rain caused flooding in several parts of Oahu early Sunday before moving on to Maui County. More moisture from the south, ahead of the main storm system, began affecting the Big Island Sunday afternoon.

The National Weather Service issued a flood advisory until 4:15 p.m. Sunday for the Big Island, manly for the Puna and South Kona districts.

Web cams atop Mauna Kea also showed the storm briefly dropped snow at the summit, but most of that had melted by 3 p.m.

The rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning, began falling on West Oahu at around midnight. The rain then moved to East Oahu, where authorities briefly closed Kamehameha Highway at around 4:45 a.m. after the Waikane Stream overflowed.

Several Windward Oahu rain gauges reported up to 3 inches of rain in the period between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. Sunday alone.

La Pietra School in Windward Oahu cancelled their open house Sunday because of the weather.

East Oahu was under a flash flood warning for most of early Sunday morning, but the warning was allowed to expire at 9:45 a.m. after the rain eased up as the shower band continued eastward toward Maui County, dropping heavy rain on Molokai and Lanai.

Maui also saw a few showers, but had lighter rainfall totals.

The rain began Saturday for Kauai, although the showers began diminishing Sunday morning.

The rain is associated with a Kona or cutoff low-pressure system centered 350 miles northwest of Kauai. An associated trough is slowly moving eastward over the island chain as the low drifts slowly southeast. The National Weather Service says the trough has a 100-mile-wide cloud band with embedded thunderstorms that will affect the state Sunday.

The low is forecast to remain near the state for the next few days, bringing unsettled weather and the chance of heavy rain, thunderstorms and flash flooding, possibly through late Tuesday. The weather service is keeping a flash-flood watch posted for all islands until then.

Stay with KITV 4 Island Weather, The Hawaii Channel Web site and KITV's 24-hour weather channel, Island Weather Now, digital channel 126, for updates on the storm.

Significant Rainfall Totals

All totals are in inches and measure the 24 period from 2 p.m. Saturday 2 p.m. Sunday

Kauai:

Lihue Airport 1.72
Mount Waialeale 1.24
Hanapepe 1.16
Wailua 1.08
Lihue Variety Station 1.07
Opaekaa Stream 1.04

Oahu:

Kaneohe Marine Corps Station 14.29
Waihee Pump 9.10
Hakipuu Mauka 8.83
Punaluu Pump 8.41
Oahu Forest NWR 7.90
Poamoho #2 7.56
Waimanalo 7.34
South Fork Kaukonahua Stream 7.19
Olomana Fire Station 6.73
Palisades 6.54
Waiawa 5.83
Maunawili 5.78
Mililani 5.71
Schofield Barracks 5.40
St. Stephens 5.34

Molokai:

Kaunakakai Mauka 2.08
Molokai #1 1.62
Makapulapai 1.42
Kamalo 1.17

Lanai:

Lanai City 1.62
Lanai #1 1.03