FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAY: Heavy rain, strong winds forecast for Oahu, Kauai, Molokai

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The HNN First Alert Weather team has declared that Wednesday will be a First Alert Weather Day for windward areas of Oahu and Kauai and all of Molokai.
Offshore thunderstorms were in the vicinity of Kauai from a lingering trough responsible for heavy rain Monday and Tuesday.
The Garden Isle was under a flash flood warning earlier Tuesday evening, but it was canceled as rainfall eased.
A weak cold front is expected to move across the state and dissipate on Wednesday, leading to an increased chance for rainfall. Rainfall and clouds will be focused over windward regions.
High pressure is also expected to build in quickly behind the dissipating front on Wednesday, leading to breezy trade winds out of the northeast.
A flash flood warning was issued for Kauai Tuesday night as heavy rain drenched central and eastern portions of the island with the Hanalei River stream gage jumping to nearly 6 feet in an hour.
The warning was canceled at 11:30 p.m. as heavy rain subsided with no reported road closures or significant impacts.
Wet trade winds will continue throughout the rest of this week and into the weekend. These trades will also be gusty, with some sustained winds reaching 20 miles per hour and above. Wind gusts could potentially reach 30 miles per hour.
Surf on north and west-facing shores continues to drop through Tuesday but will trend up on Wednesday. Medium northwest swells will continue to move in through the weekend. Strong northeasterly trades will lead to choppy conditions on north and east-facing shores.
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