It's a Monday and we've finally have the trade winds back.  It's was also the shortest day in Hawai'i.  December was 22nd the shortest daylight day and it begins the first day of winter in Hawai'i.  Winter brings heavy rains to Hawai'i.  It's normal to get heavy rains in the winter.  Two years ago when we first arrived in Hawai'i, it rained for days on end causing major damage and flooding.  That was unusual.

Let's go down memory lane....


Yup, and that was in 2005 our first year on the Big Island.  Meanwhile the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was predicting lower than average rain for Hawai'i.




This is 39th street and Pohaku in the Orchidland subdivision.  Heavy rains last night and all day today has flooded this intersection.  It is plagued with flooding when heavy rains arrive.  So much so it has eroded the road away.


The heavy rain creates natural waterfalls and rivers that empty into temporary lakes.  People that live here are familiar with this problem.  This is a natural runoff area.  It's a desirable area to live, otherwise why would people want to live in a flood zone?  Much like living in near the ocean where storm surges could destroy a home and wash it out to sea, people want to live near the ocean.


The flooding can be intense and dangerous.  People have been trapped when the water was a raging torrent and had to be rescued.  People still think their big SUV's will cross the water when it's raging across the road.


Those boulders were push downhill by the water and have created a series cascading waterfalls.  During heavy rains, the water can actually push the rocks further down hill.


Eventually this area will turn into a huge gulch and either a bridge will be needed to cross the water or people will be forced to move away.  We cannot stop nature from creating the landscapes that make Hawai'i's beauty.


Normally, this area is dry.  It's not a natural river or stream.  However, it becomes a raging river when the rains are heavy.  Water from the 2000ft elevation has nowhere to go but down hill towards the ocean.  This elevation is at 500ft, so you can see the water can travel long distances.  Gravity does the rest.


Up to 40th street, about 800ft elevation, the water races downward through the forest and across the road.  When the water rages, the road is impassable.  I took these pictures when things were settling out and the water dissipated enough to pass through the road. 


Where we live, the flooding is nowhere near us.  The topology is relatively flat.  Something I looked into before moving here.