A weak tornado briefly touched down in Kapolei today near Kapolei Golf Course, the National Weather Service said.

There were unconfirmed reports of minor roof damage and a golf cart being picked up by strong winds in the vicinity of the tornado, the weather service said.

A funnel cloud was sighted in the Kapolei area this afternoon by a number of people who reported the event to police and media.

Milton Aifili was working outside at the Kapolei Medical Park about 1 p.m. when he saw what he thought was a line of smoke. When he looked closer, he saw it spinning. Kapolei Medical Park is on Farrington Highway and Aifili saw the funnel cloud about a quarter-mile away.

"I thought it was smoke from a fire, but it got bigger and bigger and I saw rubbish flying around," Aifili said. "The smoke was dirt."

Lauren Davis, an Ewa resident, was at a stop light at the corner of Farrington Highway and Fort Barrett Road when she saw a funnel cloud she said was the size of a house carrying leaves, tree branches and dirt.

"It touched down on Farrington Highway," Davis said. "It was really cool. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I've seen these before in Texas, but I've never seen one touch the ground."

Davis said she never expected to see a funnel cloud in the tropical setting of Hawaii.

"I pulled over to the side of the road and started taking pictures with my digital camera," she said. "I couldn't figure out what it was at first. I couldn't believe I was seeing one in Hawaii."

The sightings came amid heavy rain.

The National Weather Service said it was hearing the same anecdotal reports.

At 1:27 p.m. the weather service issued a flash-flood warning, meaning that flash flooding was imminent only for the south central Oahu area, between Pearl Harbor and Barber's Point, said meteorologist Pete Donaldson.

The weather service said the flash-flood warning will be lifted at 3 p.m.

"It looks likes the heavy rain is letting up and it won't last long," Donaldson said. "May be some more heavy rain through tomorrow, but it doesn't look too awful."

A man in his 30s who was identified as an employee of the Kapolei Golf Course was taken to an area hospital in stable condition about 1:30 p.m. after sustaining injuries which may or may not have been tied to the funnel cloud, said Bryan Cheplic, city Department of Emergency Services spokesman.

"From my understanding, he went out to the golf course to warn people of inclement weather," Cheplic said. "Apparently, he got caught in a strong gust of wind."

Illona Ioli, an administrator at the Kapolei Golf Course, said the tornado came straight through the golf course.

"We've had some damage," Ioli said. "It ripped up some trees. It was the first one I've ever seen."

Kapolei Police Maj. Michael Moses said his substation did receive "a couple reports" of a funnel cloud in the area of the golf course about an hour ago but officers could not pinpoint any weather disturbance. Moses said he was driving along H-1 Freeway near the golf course when the reports came in and did not see anything. "It was raining really, really heavy at the time," he said.

The Advertiser is interested in obtaining photographs of the funnel cloud. If you managed to get a shot, e-mail it to photo@honoluluadvertiser.com or send to 754-8261.