It's a spectacular drive in good weather, and can be a hellacious one when it rains like this. The belt highway curves through three huge gulches with practically vertical sides, and when the ground's saturated rocks and debris start coming down.
flickr.com
At 1 pm Civil defense said the road is technically still open (i.e., yes, there are rocks and debris landing in the road but not so much, yet, that they're not letting anyone through). Nevertheless, drivers are cautioned to stay off the road if they have that option.
Being halfway to Waikoloa would be great. Getting stuck halfway to Waikoloa would be a major pain.
Last time we drove in conditions like this it was Waikoloa to Hilo and a white-knuckler most of the way. We were lucky: the road wasn't closed by rock-fall until 30 minutes after we got through. Yeah, downtown Hilo was flooded when we got here, but that happens. At least in town you can detour around it. On many stretches of the the belt road your only choices are to sit there till the road is cleared (which can be an hour, or several hours, or many hours) or turn around and hope the road behind you is still open.
The other option is the southern route, but that's about a 4-hour drive in good conditions and it's raining just as hard (maybe harder) down there. So the hell with it. We'll go tomorrow. Or even Monday.
Of course, as soon as I'd alerted the hotel and our neighbs (bringing in mail, paper) to our change in plans, the rain let up here in Hilo. But I've been keeping my eye on the radar and it's still coming down strong on both the north and south ends of the island. I am truly glad not to be driving through this:
Which is wimpy of me, I guess, 'cause it was a lot worse a couple of hours ago. For Hawaii rain, not so bad.
* * * * *
Update: Rain lull was temporary, although now it's just a steady rain, not a roof-pounder. A flood advisory for East Hawaii (that's Hilo-side) was issued this afternoon, no saying when it will be lifted.
I've had some time on my hands this afternoon, whiled it away Googling Hilo rainfall and comparing real-rime radar images. One bit of trivia I've learned is that average March rainfall for Hilo is 14.35". We've had almost 9" in the last 24 hours, and it's not expected to stop anytime soon. Gosh I love the Internet! I can deal with rain delays, it's the thunderstorms and power outtages that take me offline that are hardest on the psyche.
If you think 9" of rain in 24 hours is a lot, keep in mind that Hilo "has long been recognized as the wettest population center in the US" (found that quote on a tourist info site, gee, they might want to downplay that!). Our average annual rainfall is a measly 129" or so (only about 3.5 times Seattle's 36"), but we had to hit 211" in one year a while back to set a record.
And consider this:
11/02/2000: "According to the National Weather Service, the massive storm set a record in Hilo where 27.83 inches of rain fell at the airport in the 24-hour period ending at 11 a.m. Thursday. The previous record for a 24-hour period was 22.30 inches set in 1979. If Hilo wasn't wet enough, the most rainfall happened over Kapapala Ranch in north Ka'u. Between 2 p.m. Wednesday and 2 p.m. Thursday the recorded rainfall totalled of 36.68 inches. "
Geeze, I hope we don't get that much!
Good news is the west side of the island should be a bit drier tomorrow. As of 7pm, any hopes for safe driving of the northern route tomorrow are out the window, so we may take the long way 'round. Hoping for a morning departure ("isolated showers") before things pick up again in the afternoon ("scattered showers" expected).
Secret confession of the day: I really don't mind missing some of the conference. This shindig goes on for 4-1/2 days, which, in my experience, is a at least one day longer than my conference stamina. Cutting that down to size is a fine idea. I am sorry to miss "Desserts to Die For" this evening though (one of my other blog personas is Cake Junkie: I take desserts seriously, gleefully, and frequently). Especially after spending an extra $30 so hubbie could indulge, too. I guess I owe him a cake. If we don't go until Monday I'll be out another $40 for his ticket to the luau... starting to add up to enough reason to hit the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment