Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2002

Flash Flood Warning 17, NWS Honolulu, HI

May 12, 2002Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at May 12, 2002, 10:30 AM 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: May 12, 2002, 10:30 AM HST (20:30 UTC)
Expired: May 12, 2002, 1:30 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 20:32 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 12:00Z, 8.5 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 1062 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 572 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 44 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 39 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 155 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.2
Supercell composite: 1.7

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGHW50 PHFO 122029
FFWHI 
HIZ001-122330-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1030 AM HST SUN MAY 12 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  KAUAI
	 
* UNTIL 130 PM HST
	
* AT 1030 AM HST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR
  INDICATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS MOVING OVER KAUAI FROM THE SOUTH

* THE RAIN GAGE AT OMAO RECORDED NEARLY 3/4 INCH OF RAIN IN 15 
  MINUTES.

A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IMMINENT. 
IF YOU ARE IN A FLOOD PRONE AREA ON KAUAI TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION TO 
PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY AND SEEK HIGHER GROUND OR REMAIN INDOORS.

IF YOU ARE DRIVING BE ALERT FOR FLOODING AND DO 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.
 
$$
DONALDSON

2 follow-up statements

000 
WGHW70 PHFO 122222
FFSHI 
HIZ001-122330-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1220 PM HST SUN MAY 12 2002

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 130 PM HST FOR 
KAUAI...

RADAR SHOWS THAT HEAVY RAIN OVER KAUAI HAS DECREASED BUT THE BRIDGE 
AT HANALEI REMAINS CLOSED AND NEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORMING SOUTH OF 
LIHUE.

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

000 
WGHW70 PHFO 130002
FFSHI 
HIZ001-130100-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
2 PM HST SUN MAY 12 2002

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

KAUAI POLICE REPORT THAT THE BRIDGE AT HANALEI HAS BEEN REOPENED. 
HEAVY RAIN OVER KAUAI HAS ENDED...AT LEAST FOR NOW.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR KAUAI.

A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR KAUAI.

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

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 May 12, 10:00 AM HST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 12, 10:00 AM HST, 30 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST SUN MAY 12 2002

SUMMARY...THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS MOIST AND UNSTABLE OVER KAUAI AND
OAHU. FLASH FLOODING AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FOR KAUAI
AND OAHU THROUGH TUESDAY. THE WEATHER WILL BE LESS ACTIVE OVER MAUI
COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND BUT HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE THERE AS WELL. DRIER WEATHER WILL RETURN BY WEDNESDAY.

DISCUSSION...A TROUGH ALOFT REMAINS NORTH OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS. A SUBTROPICAL JET STREAM ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH RUNS
RIGHT OVER THE ISLANDS. THIS PATTERN HAS MADE THE ATMOSPHERE OVER
KAUAI AND OAHU VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE. OUR SATELLITE AND RADAR DATA
SHOW THUNDERSTORMS SOUTHWEST OF KAUAI MOVING TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST.
THE UNSTABLE CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST THROUGH TUESDAY. CONDITIONS
WILL STABILIZE TUESDAY EVENING AND DRIER WEATHER WILL RETURN ON
WEDNESDAY.

SURF ALONG THE SOUTH SHORES IS AT 6 TO 8 FEET WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER
SETS. SURF WILL REMAIN AT THAT LEVEL THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON. SURF
WILL START TO DECREASE MONDAY EVENING AND WILL PROBABLY DROP BELOW
ADVISORY CRITERIA BY TUESDAY NIGHT.
DONALDSON

.HFO...WARNINGS.....SPECIAL MARINE FOR KAUAI CHANNEL TILL 1030 AM HST
.      WATCHES......SEVERE THUNDERSTORM KAUAI AND OAHU
                    FLASH FLOOD KAUAI
.      ADVISORIES...HIGH SURF SOUTH SHORES

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Hawaii, 2002 Every flash flood warning in 2002

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.