Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 30, NWS Honolulu, HI

February 27, 2004Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Feb 27, 2004, 11:30 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Feb 27, 2004, 11:30 PM HST (09:30 UTC)
Expired: Feb 28, 2004, 2:30 AM HST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Honolulu, HI
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Kauai County, HI

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this flash flood warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Hilo, (PITO), launched 00:00Z, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 185 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: 3 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -360 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1399 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 152 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 358 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: -0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGHW50 PHFO 280930
FFWHI 
HIZ003-281230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1130 PM HST FRI FEB 27 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS CONTINUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR
  MAUI

* UNTIL 230 AM HST

* AT 1120 PM HST...RADAR INDICATED THAT THE VERY HEAVY RAIN HAS 
  DIMINISHED OVER MAUI...BUT THAT ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN WILL MOVE 
  NORTHWARD OVER THE ISLAND IN THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. BECAUSE THE 
  GROUND IS SATURATED IN MANY PLACES FROM THE PREVIOUS RAINS...THE 
  THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING CONTINUES.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.

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 CROSSING FLOODED ROADWAYS. TURN AROUND...DO NOT
DROWN

ESCAPE RISING WATER BY CLIMBING DIRECTLY TO HIGHER GROUND. NEVER TRY
TO OUTRACE 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 OR OTHER LOCAL MEDIA SOURCES FOR THE
LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. REPORT FLOODING TO THE POLICE FOR
IMMEDIATE RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

LAT...LON 2048 15632 2077 15589 2113 15663 2088 15679
$$

CRAIG

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGHW70 PHFO 281231
FFSHI 
HIZ003-281330-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
230 AM HST SAT FEB 28 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR MAUI...

WEATHER RADAR INDICATED THE HEAVY RAINFALL HAS ENDED ACROSS THE
WARNED AREA....AND THERE IS NO LONGER A THREAT FOR SERIOUS FLOODING.

MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO DRIVE WITH CAUTION...BECAUSE OF WATER IN LOW 
LYING AREAS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

$$

CRAIG

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 Feb 27, 8:40 PM HST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 8:40 PM HST, 2 hours 50 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
840 PM HST FRI FEB 27 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
A COLD FRONT BETWEEN OAHU AND MOLOKAI SEPARATES THE HEAVY SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE EAST OVER MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND
FROM MODERATE SHOWERS TO THE WEST. THE FRONT AND ALL THE BAD WEATHER
WILL MOVE TO THE EAST...ENDING UP EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND SATURDAY
NIGHT. UNSTABLE AIR WILL REMAIN OVER THE ISLANDS FOR THE NEXT
SEVERAL DAYS...PROMOTING SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH A CHANCE OF
AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS. TRADES ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN BY MIDWEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
JUDGING BY THE DIRECTION OF THE WIND OVER OAHU AND MOLOKAI...THE
COLD FRONT IS OVER THE KAIWI CHANNEL. IT IS MOVING TO THE EAST AND
SHOULD REACH THE ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL SATURDAY MORNING. PROGS THEN
SHOW THE FRONT EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND SATURDAY NIGHT. HEAVY SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS AND STRONG SOUTH WINDS WILL SHIFT EASTWARD AHEAD
OF THE FRONT...TO BE REPLACED BY THE DRYER AND LESS WINDY WEATHER
BEHIND THE FRONT.

THE FRONT IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SURFACE LOW NOW ABOUT 225 MILES NORTH
OF KAUAI. AN UPPER LOW LOCATED ABOVE THE SURFACE LOW IS FORECAST TO
MOVE SOUTH OVER KAUAI SATURDAY THEN LIFT OUT TO THE NORTHEAST
SUNDAY. COLD TEMPERATURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW ALOFT WILL KEEP
THE AIRMASS UNSTABLE...RESULTING IN THE FORMATION OF THUNDERSTORMS
OVER LAND IN THE AFTERNOON. THE COLD TEMPERATURES WILL LIFT OUT TO
THE NORTHEAST WITH THE LOW...REDUCING THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS
SUNDAY.

&&

.MARINE...
SWELL DATA FROM BUOY ONE INDICATE THAT SURF ALONG THE NORTH SHORES
OF KAUAI AND OAHU WILL BE HIGHER THAN THE 25 FEET FORECAST FOR
TONIGHT. THE HIGH SURF WARNING WILL BE ADJUSTED UPPER AT 9 PM
PROBABLY TO 20 TO 35 FEET FOR KAUAI AND OAHU.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH WIND WARNING MOLOKAI TO THE BIG ISLAND
FLASH FLOOD WATCH OAHU TO THE BIG ISLAND
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS THROUGH SATURDAY
HIGH SURF WARNING NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS BUT
LANAI THROUGH SATURDAY

CRAIG

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 27, 2:31 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO		3 hr
Feb 27, 3:07 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu	3 hr
Feb 27, 4:20 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Kauai	3 hr
Feb 27, 5:20 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO		3 hr
Feb 27, 5:41 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Kauai	3 hr
Feb 27, 5:50 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu	3 hr
Feb 27, 8:24 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu	3 hr
Feb 27, 8:36 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Kauai	3 hr
Feb 27, 9:50 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu, Kauai	3 hr
Feb 28, 12:45 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu, Kauai	3 hr
Feb 28, 3:30 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu, Kauai	3 hr
Feb 28, 6:30 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu, Kauai	3 hr
Feb 28, 9:25 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu, Kauai	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Hawaii, 2004 Every flash flood warning in 2004

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.