Hanalei saw more than 2 feet of rain — and then the rain gauge broke

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The rainfall totals for Kauai over the weekend almost seem impossible.

According to the National Weather Service, Hanalei got at least 28.15 inches of rain over the 24-hour period that ended at 2 a.m Sunday. (That's more than one-third the amount of rain the community typically gets in a year.)

And at 2 a.m., officials say, the rain gauge quit working.

The all-time record rainfall for Hanalei was set in March 2012 when 28.54 inches fell over 24 hours.

But forecasters say it's highly likely that the March 2012 record was broken over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Wainiha received 19.54 inches over the same 24-hour period, shattering the previous record of 16.7 inches set in 1969.

Mount Waialeale got 18.02 inches and Princeville Airport got 13.39 inches.

Meanwhile, the Hanalei River was at 14.76 feet early Sunday morning, well above the 7.7-foot flood stage.

The torrential rains spurred widespread flooding, damaging dozens of homes and stranding whole communities.

Forecasters said the drenching rains were triggered by an upper level low pressure system, "which tapped into enhanced moisture in the lower levels of the atmosphere" and produced torrential rainfall.

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