The National Weather Service's Honolulu Forecast office "saw what we identified as a tornadic cell on radar ... coming on shore, somewhere between Hanapepe and Waimea," which led to the tornado warning for Kauai from 12:52 until 1:15 p.m., said meteorologist Maureen Ballard.

"When something has that type of circulation, it can cause a great deal of damage in a short period of time," Ballard said. "The incident may be very brief or can last several minutes."

As it turned out, the warning was allowed to expire at 1:15 p.m. because "the cell died very quickly before it came onshore," Ballard said.

Kaua'i Civil Defense Director Mark Marshall said powerful winds did move through, although they didn't become cyclonic or form tornadoes. said

"We did have some reports of downed trees at Hanapepe," Marshall said at 1:23 p.m. on Kaua'i's KQNG 93-FM radio station. And there were some reports of waterspouts off-shore, he said.

Meanwhile, heavy rains continued on Kaua'i, causing flooding, road closures and landslides, and hazardous driving conditions.

A flash flood warning remains in effect for the island until 5 p.m.

The highest 24-hour rainfall totals through 11:45 a.m. were 13 inches at Mount Wai'ale'ale and 10.5 inches at Koke'e, Ballard said.

Shortly before 3 p.m. the Ocean Safety Bureau of the Kaua'i Fire Department reports that all beaches on Kaua'i are closed. Residents and visitors are requested to stay out of the water due to weather conditions.

Kaua'i's firefighters on the west side have had numerous calls for assistance with flooding, downed trees, etc., acting District Commander Sgt. Bernard Purisima said at 2:45 p.m.

Normally there are four firefighters on duty in the district, but workers are staying longer and coming on-shift early to deal with "all emergencies — helping people from their homes, blocking roads, getting signs up to roads. Directing traffic around landslides," Purisima said. "It's been busy since yesterday."

The heaviest rains are occurring along the south and southeast coasts, especially over Barking Sands, Kekaha, Waimea, Koloa, Lihu'e, Hanalei and Wainiha, the weather service said.

The Hanalei Bridge remains closed. Waimea town has significant flooding, the weather service said.

Stream and river levels remain high across Kauai. Rain gauges have indicated rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour with radar estimates of 2 to 4 inches per hour, the weather service said.

At 12:34 p.m. radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado 7 miles southwest of Kaumakani, or 24 miles west of Lihu'e, and moving northeast at 35 mph, the weather service said.

But no sightings were reported.

Kaua'i's Public Works Solid Waste Division reports that the Kekaha Landfill is closed until further notice due to flooding, county officials said in a news release. Major flooding is reported in Waimea Valley. At 2:20 p.m., Kehaka Road was closed between Kala Road and Io Road in Kekeha; and Kukui'ula Bypass Road in Koloa/Poipu was also closed.

The state Department of Transportation reports that Kaumuali'i Highway at mile marker 13 in Hanapepe has heavy runoff.

A landslide was reported at Anini Beach Road, however, one lane of traffic is open. Major flooding has been reported at Waimea Big Save.

A tree has fallen on the Kilauea side of Kalihiwai Bridge. One lane is reported to be blocked. Kaua'i police are providing traffic control until the tree can be removed.

The public is advised to stay off the roads if possible.