School Closings in Hawaii: A Friday Storm Shuts Campuses, and a Pedestrian Hurries Through the Downpour
In Honolulu, a pedestrian leaned into a heavy downpour while crossing South King Street Thursday, a small act of determination made urgent by the weather and the widening list of school closings set for Friday, March 13, as a powerful storm impacts the islands through the weekend.
What do the School Closings cover on Friday, March 13?
Public education and higher education leaders moved quickly as the storm’s expected impacts sharpened: heavy rain, flash flooding, severe thunderstorms, and high winds. The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education said all Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Maui County, and Hawaiʻi Island public schools, as well as department offices, will be closed Friday, March 13, in anticipation of severe weather conditions.
Across the state, there will be no in-person instruction or extracurricular activities on March 13 on Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, Maui, Molokai, Lānaʻi, and Hawaiʻi Island. Students and staff were told not to report to campuses or Hawaiʻi Department of Education offices unless specifically directed.
The University of Hawaiʻi also announced that all campuses across the state will be closed on Friday, March 13, due to severe weather expected to impact the state. The closure includes all scheduled classes and events, including the OUTRIGGER Invitational men’s volleyball tournament and a Rainbow Wahine softball game at UH Mānoa.
Chaminade’s campus will be closed on Friday due to severe weather conditions. Campus offices are scheduled to reopen Monday, March 16, unless otherwise notified, school.
How severe is the storm expected to be, and what are officials warning residents about?
By Thursday, the Kona low storm had already driven advisories that were expected to remain for much of the week as flash flooding was forecast. State and city leaders used news conferences to press the same message: the threat is real, and lulls can be deceptive.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi gave updates on the storm at a news conference at the Fasi Municipal Building. Dr. Randal Collins, the Director of Emergency Management, also spoke with the media.
Gov. Josh Green held a news conference Thursday with state officials to warn residents about the storm’s intensity and to urge caution. “An incredible amount of rain is coming with very high certainty, ” Green said. “We hope it’s not even more than we’ve been projecting. There could be some lulls to this storm — and that means even more rain, even more threats to public safety, so we’re just trying to be very, very safe. ”
John Bravender, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, underscored the risk of complacency. “Don’t get lulled into a false sense of security, ” Bravender said at a news conference Thursday afternoon in the governor’s office.
The National Weather Service forecast that the islands can see up to 15 inches of rain in the next three days, with the downpours likely coming in waves rather than as a constant onslaught. The entire state is under a flood watch through Saturday afternoon, and Oʻahu spent much of Thursday under a flash flood warning.
Winds are also a central concern. The weather service said southwesterly winds will be strongest from Friday through Saturday, producing damaging gusts north and east of the mountains. A high wind warning has been issued for the smaller islands and the summits of Hawaiʻi Island. A winter storm warning has also been issued for the summits of the Big Island, with periods of heavy snow into the weekend.
What happens next for students and families as the storm stretches into the weekend?
For families, the shutdown is both practical and emotional: a sudden, statewide pause meant to keep people off roads and away from campuses as conditions worsen. The closures also land at the edge of a calendar shift. Students and teachers statewide are scheduled to be on spring break March 16–20, a detail that may shape how households plan the next several days while the storm continues to move across the islands.
Weather impacts were expected to evolve hour by hour as the storm traveled. Moderate to heavy showers were expected overnight into Friday, with showers intensifying and slowly spreading from Kauaʻi to Oʻahu early Friday morning, then gradually moving east toward Maui County and the Big Island.
In the background of these forecasts, daily life kept pushing forward in short, soaked crossings—like the one on South King Street—while public officials urged caution and schools and universities moved activities off campuses. For now, the school closings are a clear signal of how seriously leaders are treating what’s ahead, and a reminder that the next lull in the rain may not be the end of the danger, but the space before the next wave arrives.
Image caption (alt text): school closings as heavy rain and wind from a Kona low storm shut campuses across Hawaii on Friday, March 13.
