HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Storms moving across Oahu Friday brought flooding, flight delays, and widespread power outages.

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Your HNN First Alert Weather Team declared Friday a First Alert Weather Day due to the threat of heavy rain, and the island was under a flash flood warning for much of the afternoon.

Floodwaters forced authorities to close Kamehameha Highway at Waiahole in Windward Oahu, causing traffic to come to a standstill all the way back to Kahaluu.

In Makiki, drivers were asked to avoid the area of 4045 Tantalus Drive due to a landslide and large fallen tree.

Viewer video from Waipahu showed flooding along Farrington Highway, although the road was not officially closed.

A viewer image from ʻEwa Beach showed a sparking utility pole that appeared to have been hit by lightning.

Stranded hikers rescued

The Honolulu Fire Department said crews responded to reports of stranded hikers on multiple parts of Oahu. With Air 1 grounded by the storms, firefighters escorted hikers out, officials said.

In Kunia, fire officials said a woman’s vehicle floated a few feet after a church parking lot flooded, but she got out safely with crews’ help and no one was hurt.

Widespread power outages

Hawaiian Electric reported more than 25,000 Oahu customers were without power Friday evening at about 9 p.m. About 80 different outages were recorded across the island.

Outages were reported in areas including Makaha, Aiea, Ewa, Kapolei, Makakilo, Mililani, Pearl City, Waikele, Waimalu and Waipahu, among others.

HECO said a lightning strike had ignited a fire in the switchyard at Kahe Power Plant shortly after 3 p.m., damaging equipment.

Crews had to wait for the fire to be extinguished and will make repairs once the temperature has cooled.

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HECO said it hopes to restore power to most West Oahu customers by Saturday at 12 a.m.

Restoration efforts were also delayed by continuous cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, which are unusual and pose an especially dangerous risk to crews working on equipment and substations, said HECO.

“Lightning strikes — more lightning than we’ve seen in a long time, and the thunder’s unreal,” said Kaneohe resident Gus Yniguez.

He added that some of the strikes appeared to be very close, “I mean within a block or two. We were seeing some really bright lights right through our window and I saw a couple of strikes that looked like they were hitting Kahekili (Highway).”

Anyone experiencing an outage is asked to report it online or at Hawaiian Electric’s Trouble Line at 1-855-304-1212.

View updates on HECO’s Oahu outage map.

Flights delayed at Honolulu airport

Due to lightning, the Hawaii State Department of Transportation said some flights may be delayed at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport as ground crews are moved off the runways due to safety.

Travelers were advised to check with their airline before heading to the airport.

More heavy rain expected

Forecasters said unstable conditions were expected to continue into the weekend. A flood watch was also in effect for Molokai, Lanai, Maui and Hawaii Island.

Despite the disruptions and flooding, Mother Nature’s show also included a display of dozens of waterfalls in the Koolau mountains.

“We absolutely love it, but it’s very rare that you can see them without the cloud covering,” said Yniguez as he looked at several waterfalls in distant Haiku Valley. “You gotta be up on the H-3 usually because the clouds will cover them up. This is a rare instance where the clouds are high and you can see a lot of the waterfalls from right here.”

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