Flash flood warning for the entire island of Hawaii

Graphic by BIVN

(BIVN) – The entire island of Hawaii was under a flash flood warning as of 10 p.m. Monday evening as heavy rains began to move into wind-sheltered areas.

The windward side of the Big Island was drenched throughout the day, triggering the flash flood warning for much of the day. Several roads were closed, including Highway 11 in Kaʻū between the 57 and 62 mile markers. Evacuation shelters are open at the Keaʻau Armory in Puna, the Naʻalehu Community Center and the Robert N. Herkes Gym in Pahala.

From the National Weather Service in Honolulu:

At 9:27 a.m. HST, radar and automated rain gauges indicated heavy rain was falling over the windward, southeastern and interior portions of the Big Island, with these showers beginning to extend to the leeward Big Island. Rain fell at a rate of up to 3 inches per hour. This has caused water levels in streams and rivers to rise significantly, and emergency management reported several road closures upwind and southeast of the Big Island. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.

Forecasters say the heavy rain could continue for another day.

“With support from an upper trough forming over the state and increasing atmospheric instability, the threat of heavy rainfall and localized flooding will continue tomorrow, with areas of concern moving westward as the trough advances,” the National Weather Service said wrote on Monday evening. “A flood warning remains in effect for Maui and the Big Island until tomorrow afternoon.”