Downed power lines on Maui, Hawaii
© MECODowned power lines on Maui, Hawaii following powerful storms
Severe storms with damaging winds and heavy rainfall struck Hawaii early Tuesday morning from a storm that formed north of the islands.

The Maui Police Department tweeted early Tuesday that there was an island-wide power outage from the storms and that Maui Electric was working to restore power. Maui has a population of about 150,000.

A teenage girl suffered a leg injury when a tree fell on a bus stop along Ala Moana Boulevard late Wednesday night, according to KHON.

Flash flooding has also been reported from heavy downpours. The Maui Police Department said Haleakala Highway was closed by flooding at the intersection of Hana Highway early Tuesday.

More stormy weather is expected to affect Hawaii through the day on Tuesday, particularly in Maui and the Big Island. That National Weather Service has posted a flash flood watch through Tuesday afternoon.

Contributing to the severe storms and heavy rain is a Kona low.

Kona lows are areas of low pressure aloft that typically set up just northwest of the Hawaiian Islands in the cool half of the year, most often between December and March.


A weaker surface low pressure is also associated with this system which causes winds to shift from the typical northeast (windward) direction to a southwest (leeward or Kona) direction. That's where the "Kona" name comes from.