Weather updates

[LikaNui]

We don't seem to have a thread where we can just post occasional weather updates... but we do now. If something strange or unusual is happening in your neighborhood, this is the place.

Right now I'm under mostly blue skies here on Kaneohe Bay, but I've been hearing thunder for the past hour or so. About a mile and half from me, the Ko`olau mountains are covered with thick clouds, and I can see at least two dozen waterfalls. Thick ones, too.
Sweet!

[Kaonohi]

Saturday night, and daytime Sunday saw heavy rainfall in Kahalu`u. Sunday night we had plenty of thunder and lightning, and the waterfalls coming off the Ko`olaus were as big as I have ever seen them. Our road was flooded in several places, as if a shallow (six to eight inch deep) stream was flowing across the road.

[LikaNui]

Yeah, Sunday afternoon was when I saw the rain up in your area but zero here, just a mile or so away. Glad you agree about the size of those waterfalls; they were amazing.
Right now looks exactly like yesterday. Heavy clouds over the Ko`olau, lots of thuinder, and it looks like rain in your area but none here.
Kinda fun lying in bed last night and seeing all those lightning bolts.

[Honoruru]

At the moment, there’s a lot of serious thundering going on in town, but I can’t see any lightning. It might be because the sun is still out ... somewhere. Last night there was a lot of lightning, but no thunder. Maybe tonight it will all come together, along with a heavy dose of rain.

[tutusue]

Woah! HUGE bolt of lightning and clap of thunder in Waikiki. It's also pouring. This, about 15 minutes after I watched canoes paddle toward the ocean down the Ala Wai Canal. Can't be fun out there right now!

[Honoruru]

Holy Moley! It's getting serious. I just saw a lighting bolt touch down just below Tantalus!

[tutusue]

This, in downtown Honolulu (water spout or twister?)...and YIKES, that was just one heckuva triple bolt of lightning.

[tutusue]

It sounded like the island just cracked in half!

[Honoruru]

Wow! The rain is now coming down in wave after wave of heavy sheets, illuminated now and then by lightning. Lots of water.

[LikaNui]

Yes, waterspout, Tutu. (Two of them, actually, right off Honolulu harbor.) When they touch land they become tornadoes. I saw a couple of waterspouts start to form over here, but they never touched down.
Power went off here in Kaneohe at 5:05pm and just came back on about five minutes ago. But only part of Kaneohe is back on.
The power outage was a lightning strike hitting the plant at the back of Palolo Valley. Power was out from Kahala to Hawaii Kai and on the windward side from Waimanalo clear up to Kualoa Point (Chinaman's Hat area).
Massive thunder and lightning over here but no rain.
I'm gonna send this off now in case the power goes back out again.

[LikaNui]

Okay, the other part of Kaneohe just came back on.
This is like that time the entire island went off, and they could only turn it back on section by section. Must be what they're doing now.

[Zovo]

Lots of thunder and lightning rolled through Ewa Beach area. So much thunder it just became this sort ambient growl that just rolled and rolled and rolled. . .

Looks like it's moved off to the west, but can still hear it growling out there; growling and flickering. Pretty intense storm.

Got a few pics of the waterspout from my phone while riding the bus on H-1. Not as good as the one above though. Strange days.

[LikaNui]

I woke up at 1:06am to the absolute loudest thunder I've ever heard. Had to have been at least 150 decibels, I'm sure. Ten times louder than those 'boomer' fireworks, easily. I actually had an earache from it. I'm surprised it didn't blow out all the windows. Must've been a lightning strike within a few hundred yards of here, I suppose.
Power went out at least one more time during the night.
An occasional thunder this morning, and this afternoon as the land heats up we might have the same weather situations as yesterday.

[Zovo]

Yeah, weather forecast is calling for nuttiness again today. . . I wore the big coat to work. :P

[Kaonohi]

Lots of distant thunder and lightning and local rain in mauka Kahalu`u last night, but we kept our power overnight.

[tutusue]

I awoke to lightning in the middle of the night but no thunder, iirc. Did have both around 7 this morning. Rain, too.

[Ron Whitfield]

Town got a particularly spectacular canon blast around 7pm, one of many highlites from a great show storm. I was at the harbor as the spouts appeared but managed to not see them.

[matapule]

Yes, waterspout, Tutu. (Two of them, actually, right off Honolulu harbor.) When they touch land they become tornadoes..

Matapule had a waterspout go through his village of Falevai on the island of Kapa in the district of Vava'u in 1968. It went through about 50 yards from matapule's fale. Matapule and uaifi heard it coming, but couldn't see it because it was dark outside about 6:30pm. It was louder than standing next to a freight train. Matapule had to put his 250 pounds against the door to prevent it from being blown open. Rain was being driven through the woven coconut fronds of the walls. We had no idea of what was happening to us. Fortunately, it didn't last long and then complete silence and only light drizzle. We went up into the village with a flashlight but could see nothing. Uaifi, who had nursing and first aid training was at the ready. Some of the villagers were shouting, but there was nothing for any of us to do in the dark. The next morning we found that everyone was safe and there was only minor damage to property.

It was an interesting experience, one that matapule would not want to repeat.

[LikaNui]

Massive thunderstorm and heavy rain here. Thunder and lightning all night long, but especially heavy right now. Radar shows more coming.

[GregLee]

Thunder here in Waimanalo for the last several hours (Fri 7:30am). This is the first full test of the Thundershirt that we got our dog for $36 from Amazon. It's just a snug jacket. It keeps some dogs from getting anxious from thunder or firecrackers. It clearly works for our dog, though not perfectly. The dog is still pretty scared, but not trembling violently or dashing around in a panic, as on previous similar occasions. Judging from the Amazon reviews, sometimes it works and sometimes not, no one quite knows why.

[matapule]

Judging from the Amazon reviews, sometimes it works and sometimes not, no one quite knows why.

Interesting! My granddog (RIP) was like that with thunder and firecrackers. Did you see the movie, Temple Grandin, about the woman who was autistic and designed a shoot for cows that calmed them down before slaughter? Evidently something about being confined is very calming. Research is underway to see how that principle can be applied to humans with psychological disorders.

[tutusue]

[...]Research is underway to see how that principle can be applied to humans with psychological disorders.

My 12 year old nephew is highly special needs. Once agitated, for whatever reason, it's interesting to see how he calms down when someone hugs him closely. There appears to be a grounding effect.

And, yes, Mother Nature is doin' her dance on town side, too.

[LikaNui]

This is the first full test of the Thundershirt that we got our dog for $36 from Amazon. It's just a snug jacket. It keeps some dogs from getting anxious from thunder or firecrackers. It clearly works for our dog, though not perfectly.

Was that you who called KSSK radio a few hours ago and talked about the Thundershirt? The guy who called loved it. He was calling in response to someone else who called about their dog being scared.

Currently in Kaneohe there's light rain and almost no wind. I had to drive to Ewa Beach this morning and it poured and thundered all the way there and back. A gazillion waterfalls on the Koolau, going across H-3. There was a giant one just a few feet away from Stairway To Heaven. Hope there were no climbers!

[GregLee]

Was that you who called KSSK radio a few hours ago and talked about the Thundershirt?

Not me. [Filler to make message long enough ...]

[LikaNui]

Thanks, Greg. So you're not alone in liking that dog shirt!

The sky was clearing here the last couple of hours and even a tiny bit of blue sky out over the ocean to the northeast. So I just ran to Safeway to get a couple of things and when I walked out of the store it's pouring hard again and lots of thunder. Zero wind. Sheesh!!!
We had about a dozen mini power outages early this morning and apparently more while I was town side. One of the surges blew out the power input on my 42" Sony Bravio flatscreen, so a repairman is on the way with some parts; probably about $150 to fix it. Think I'll seek reimbursement from HECO.