Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2001

Flash Flood Warning 15, NWS Honolulu, HI

November 26, 2001Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Nov 26, 2001, 7:05 PM HST for Kauai County, Hawaii. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Nov 26, 2001, 7:05 PM HST (05:05 UTC)
Expired
Nov 26, 2001, 10:05 PM HST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Honolulu, HI
Area
Whole counties

County Kauai County, HI

The radar

The South Kauai radar (PHKI), 20 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:08 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Lihue, (PHLI), launched 00:00Z, 5.1 hours before the alert went out and 37 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lihue, at 00:00Z on 2001-11-27Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 2267 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Lihue, at 00:00Z on 2001-11-27The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 76 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
2267 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-6 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
759 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
76 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.1
Supercell composite
7.3

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
WGHW50 PHFO 270506
FFWHI 
HIZ001-270805-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
705 PM HST MON NOV 26 2001

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  KAUAI
  INCLUDING THE COMMUNITIES OF...KOKEE...KEKAHA AND THE SOUTHWESTERN 
  PORTION OF KAUAI
	 
* UNTIL 1005 PM HST
	
* AT 705 PM HST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR
  INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING JUST OFFSHORE KEKAHA ON 
  KAUAI AND MOVING NORTHWARD ACROSS WESTERN KAUAI

* THUNDERSTORMS WITH EXCESSIVE RAINFALL WILL BE NEAR KEKAHA AND 
  KOKEE AND WAIMEA CANYON ON KAUAI FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS

FLASH FLOODING IS EXPECTED IN NORMALLY DRY STREAMBEDS DURING THE 
NEXT THREE HOURS. PERSONS IN LOW-LYING OR FLOOD PRONE AREAS SHOULD 
MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. 
PERSON ON KAUAI SHOULD TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO PROTECT LIFE AND 
PROPERTY AND SEEK HIGHER GROUND OR REMAIN INDOORS.

A RAIN GAGE AT KOKEE IN KOKEE STATE PARK REPORTED RAINFALL IN EXCESS 
OF .50 PER HOUR IN THE 15 MINUTES ENDING AT 7 PM. RAINFALL FOR THE 
PAST HOUR AT THIS GAGE WAS 1.42 INCHES. ADDITIONAL STORMS APPEAR TO 
BE FORMING SOUTH OF KEKAHA ON THE SOUTHWEST COAST OF KAUAI AND 
MOVING NORTHWARD OVER THE SAME AREA. TRAINING OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND 
THUNDERSTORMS CAN LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING...AND SO FLASH FLOODING IS 
EXPECTED IN THIS PART OF KAUAI.

MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT FOR FLOODING AND SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO 
CROSS FAST FLOWING OR RISING WATER...MANY FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR 
WHEN MOTORISTS TRY TO CROSS FLOODED ROADWAYS. ESCAPE RISING WATER BY 
CLIMBING DIRECTLY TO HIGHER GROUND. NEVER TRY TO OUTRUN A FLOOD 
EITHER ON FOOT OR IN YOUR VEHICLE. DO NOT CAMP NEAR STREAMS OR OTHER 
AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TV OR RADIO FOR FURTHER 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INFORMATION.
 
FARRELL     NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGHW70 PHFO 270746
FFSHI 
HIZ001-270840-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
940 PM HST MON NOV 26 2001

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR KAUAI HAS BEEN 
CANCELLED...

HEAVY RAINFALL HAS EASED OFF OVER SOUTHWEST KAUAI...AND OVER KAUAI 
GENERALLY. THE HEAVIEST SHOWERS HAVE MOVED OUT INTO THE KAUAI 
CHANNEL AT THIS TIME. KOKEE...IN SOUTHWEST KAUAI...RECEIVED 3.59 
INCHES OF RAINFALL IN THE SIX HOURS ENDED AT 915 PM THIS EVENING... 
5.65 INCHES IN THE PAST 24 HOURS. RAINFALL IS QUITE LIGHT IN THIS 
AREA NOW...AND THUS THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR SOUTHWEST KAUAI IS 
CANCELLED.

THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR KAUAI...AND ALL THE HAWAIIAN 
ISLANDS...UNTIL 4 AM HST TUESDAY MORNING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TV OR RADIO FOR FURTHER 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INFORMATION.
 
FARRELL

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Honolulu, HI wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Nov 26, 4:00 PM HST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 26, 4:00 PM HST, 3 hours 5 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
4 PM HST MON NOV 26 2001

SUMMARY...LOW PRESSURE FORMING WEST OF KAUAI WILL BRING SHOWERS AND
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS UP OVER THE STATE. INTERMITTENT HEAVY RAIN
IS FALLING ON THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE BIG ISLAND...AND MAY REACH
THE REST OF THE STATE LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY.

DISCUSSION...A KONA LOW HAS NOT YET FORMED IN THE TROUGH WEST OF THE
STATE. SOUTHERLY FLOW EAST OF THE TROUGH BOTH AT THE SURFACE AND
ALOFT WILL HOWEVER CONTINUE TO BRING MOISTURE LADEN AIR UP OVER THE
ISLANDS. SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO MOVE UP OVER
KAU PUNA AND HILO. THEY ARE DISORGANIZED AND INTERMITTENT...AND
BECAUSE THEY ARE MOVING TO THE NORTH AT ABOUT 20 MPH...POSE NO
IMMEDIATE THREAT OF HEAVY FLOODING. WILL HOWEVER EXTEND THE FLOOD
WATCH FOR THE BIG ISLAND UNTIL 4 AM TUESDAY IN CASE THINGS CHANGE.

KAUAI WILL LIKELY SEE HEAVY RAIN TONIGHT AS A COLD FRONT WITH HEAVY
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEST OF THE ISLAND MOVES SLOWLY TO THE
EAST. STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT MAY LAST
THROUGH THE NIGHT BECAUSE THE FRONT MAY NOT GET PAST THE ISLANDS. A
WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR KAUAI BECAUSE OF THE BRISK WINDS.
HAVE ALSO EXTENDED THE FLOOD WATCH FOR KAUAI UNTIL 4 AM BECAUSE OF
THE HEAVY RAIN TO THE WEST. THE OTHER ISLANDS HAVE YET TO SEE ANY
SIGNIFICANT RAIN. BUT MAY DO SO IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS OR SO.

AN UPPER LEVEL LOW IS FORECAST TO FORM ABOUT 400 MILES WEST OF KAUAI
TUESDAY AT WHICH POINT THE HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COULD
ORGANIZE INTO FLOOD THREATENING NORTH TO SOUTH LINES. WHERE THE
LINES WILL FORM IS PROBLEMATIC AT PRESENT...SO AM UNABLE TO SAY
WHICH ISLAND WILL HAVE PROBLEMS. CRAIG.

.PHFO.....WARNINGS.....NONE
.         WATCHES......FLOOD FOR KAUAI AND THE BIG ISLAND
.         ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT...HIGH SURF NORTHWEST SHORES
.                      WIND KAUAI
.         OUTLOOKS.....HYDROLOGIC FOR REMAINDER OF THE STATE

The office that day

Everything else NWS Honolulu, HI issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Nov 27, 2:05 AM HSTFlash Flood WarningHFO3 hr
Nov 27, 3:40 AM HSTFlash Flood WarningHFO3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Hawaii, 2001Every flash flood warning in 2001

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.