Rare Tornado and Hail Hits Hawaii Island.

Tornado Touches Down On Lana'i


(KHNL) There was more than just the rumble of thunder that rolled through the state last night. The damaging sounds of severe weather were also heard on Lana'i as a tornado tore thru that island.

When heavy rains hit the state Thursday night, severe weather struck Lana'i. Thunderstorms are not too common, but tornadoes are rare here in the islands. Hawaii only gets one per year statewide on average. So after a twister touched down on Lana'i it was big news to this little island.

"The tornado itself likely developed very quickly" said Wes Browning of the National Weather Service.

"I said that looks like a tornado, so we kept watching and watching. I said it really looks like a tornado out there" said eyewitness Willie Alboro.

CAPTAIN COOK, Hawaii » Resident Linda Bong described the "fabulous" scene that followed the brief hailstorm that blanketed parts of South Kona with pea-size pieces of ice yesterday morning.

"It looked like diamonds everywhere," she said.

But it made her nervous while it was happening, with strong winds blowing the ice particles nearly horizontally, shooting them across her lanai and embedding them in the screens on her windows.

Hail was reported yesterday in several Big Island communities.

A mile from Captain Cook, in Kealakekua, hailstones the size of quarters were reported, according to the National Weather Service.

The hail was a product of a strong thunderstorm cell that formed over the Big Island, said Brad Fujii, Weather Service forecaster.