From the local Kauai Press:

Anyone dreaming of a sunny winter break in Hawaii this week can forget it: Gov. Neil Abercrombie has declared a disaster on the islands of Kauai and Oahu after days of relentless rain caused flooding, mudslides, waterspouts, hail and dangerously high surf.

Although the sun made a brief appearance Wednesday, forecasters warned that more rain was expected on Friday and Saturday.

Even parts of the lush "Garden Isle" of Kauai � known for its rain-fed tropical forests and waterfalls � were inundated by downpours that began Saturday and dumped more than 35 inches of rain, about the amount that typically falls in a month. More than 15 inches fell on the island�s main city of Lihue.

Parts of Oahu also were drenched with more than 15 inches, and officials in Honolulu said the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve would be temporarily closed because of heavy rains and surface runoff. Several golf courses in the state capital also faced closures during the week.

"We�re probably looking at early Friday morning it starting up again," said National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Foster. An upper-level low-pressure zone, he said, was getting ready to squat just west of Kauai and bring more rain, including possible thunderstorms, on top of the deluge from earlier in the week.

"It�s clearing up at the moment, but there�s been a lot of road closures. We had, what, 12 inches in 24 hours in some places here in Kauai," said Jay Armstrong, who works in a local T-shirt shop.

HOPEFULLY WE GET SOME --- NOT THIS MUCH! JUST SOME...

Lee