Golf-Ball Size Hail Pelts Windward Oahu

POSTED: 6:48 pm HST March 9, 2012
UPDATED: 11:32 pm HST March 9, 2012

HONOLULU -- Oahu residents didn?t know what to make of the noisemakers that came raining down on the windward side Friday.It was like almost like Christmas for the Alo family. They froze the huge chunks of ice that came down in their back yard. "It was kind of exciting, like seeing snow for the first time or something. We woke the kids up to look out and took videos," said Kaahu Alo.The hail cracked the window of Aikahi Gardens manager Marjee Kress' unit."Before 6a.m. we heard pounding. We thought someone was breaking in and we looked out there was giant-size golf ball hail came down and it covered the yards," said Kress.The residents said they had never seen anything so stunning."No-- We lived on the mainland in Arizona. I've seen hail, but not this big. I was kind of worried about our cars. Alarms were going off all over," said Kaahu Alo.In the light of day, families came out to inspect the damage. There were lots of dents to deal with.Paul Stoddard was taking to his insurance agent about the damage to his home and two cars. He counted more than 40 dents in his 2011 Volkswagen sedan. The damage was all over the front hood, the back trunk and on the sides too.The hail also cracked his skylight, and ice chunks came through the house through the solar fans.?The hail was bouncing up there and through the tubing and through the living room and the hail was bouncing around there and the dogs were chasing the ice,? said Stoddard said.Stoddard said in addition to all the hail, his rain gauge showed that between 5a.m. and 7:30 in the morning 5 point six inches of rain fell in the backyard.Across the canal, Doug Miller's yard looked like wreck. There was not just one, but two dead birds. A third dove hovered under a tree, looking very shell-shocked."The noise was just incredible. It was like New Year?s Eve with all the fireworks going you couldn?t even hear yourself talk,? said MillerThe ti leaf in the back yard looked like another plant altogether. and the holiday poinsettia was looking more like a Charlie Brown tree.?It was like Edward Scissorhands went through and did a number on them,? Miller said.Miller lives on a pretty famous street. It is where President Barack Obama and his family stay every Christmas. Miller joked, he just may send a picture of the Kailuana Street hail to the White House.

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