14 Mar Life on Kaua’i: the rainy season continues
We’re experiencing the wettest, coldest stretch of weather on Kaua’i’s north shore since arriving. And that’s a serious statement after our first two weeks here in November where we had daily downpours for our first two weeks on island.
Last week was super drizzly and chilly with heavy tradewind gusts out of the northeast (Mar 1-7) ending with the wettest market yet — near solid downpours for two hours. We had one nice day, Sunday, which was sunny and dry. By Monday at noon, the skies were darkening and we were hearing about an impending, big storm sweeping the other islands and coming our way. Tuesday things intensified with only an hour or two without precipitation, while we learned of heavy flooding on Maui, signaling things were only going to get worse, and the flash flood warnings began. Tuesday night we had a farmily potluck – our most successful yet with a solid Taco Tuesday theme, and we’re grateful for a distraction, and large, dry space of the rental house to gather in, as the rains pounded outside.
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- Guac, mashed avocado, black bean corn salsa, ulu chips
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- 4 hot sauces, fermented mango, ulu-casava tortillas, Spanish rice, black beans, enchiladas, spicy slaw, salad
That night was some of the loudest thunder anyone’s heard as the storm passed over, and no one slept between 1-3am. By dawn, water was pooling and flowing everywhere. I got up early to use the house bathroom and had to cross an ankle deep river to get there. We’d later find out the farm received approximately 14-15″ of rain in about 48 hours.
Pounding rain outside our cabin
Runoff river on the west side of the property
I walked over to the kitchen and stopped at the driveway to see the other runoff river cutting directly through the center of the White’s property before rushing down the east side of Olana Farm.
Olana driveway underwater….
Walking up to the property line for the Whites
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- Gallons of water trapped on the roof tarps, crushing boxes
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- The water pouring out directly into the kitchen
With the roof drained it was time to survey the rest of the farm… the two rivers meeting up at the north (also lowest) point of the property.
Luckily the farm is largely intact. We were able to assess the remaining plants in the flooded areas and get what was left re-covered with dirt to protect them. Other areas of the island had way more standing water, property damage, and even a huge mudslide closing the highway 9 miles west of the farm, cutting off access to Hanalei, Haena State Park and the Napali Coast. It’s still expected to be at least another week until it reopens to single lane traffic.
Deborah M Anderson
Posted at 18:34h, 15 Marchthat’s a lot of rain and water!!! Stay safe!