Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 37, NWS Honolulu, HI

March 14, 2004Honolulu County, Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Mar 14, 2004, 12:45 AM HST for Honolulu County, Kauai County, Hawaii. It was in force for 15 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
Mar 14, 2004, 12:45 AM HST (10:45 UTC)
Expired
Mar 14, 2004, 4:00 PM HST
In force
15 hr
Issued by
NWS Honolulu, HI
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

Counties Honolulu County, HI, 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, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 72 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, Hilo, at 00:00Z on 2004-03-14Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 733 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, Hilo, at 00:00Z on 2004-03-14The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -7 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
733 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
892 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
13 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-7 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
33 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WGHW50 PHFO 142224
FFWHI 
HIZ004-007-150100-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1245 AM HST SUN MAR 14 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS CONTINUED THE

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR
  NORTH AND EAST HAWAII INCLUDING WINDWARD KOHALA AND HAMAKUA
  WEST HAWAII INCLUDING LEEWARD KOHALA

* UNTIL 400 PM HST

* AT 1230 AM HST...AUTOMATED RAIN GAGES INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAIN 
  FROM 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF WAIMEA TO 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF 
  LAUPAHOEHOE...OR FROM 37 MILES NORTHEAST OF KAILUA-KONA TO 18 
  MILES NORTHWEST OF HILO. THE AREA OF HEAVY RAIN WAS NEARLY 
  STATIONARY.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF STREAMS
AND COULD ALSO TRIGGER ROCK AND MUDSLIDES IN STEEP TERRAIN.

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 1999 15594 1986 15516 1994 15506 2035 15592
$$

FARRELL
1 follow-up statement
000 
WGHW70 PHFO 142335
FFSHI 
HIZ004-150015-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
118 PM HST SUN MAR 14 2004

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 400 PM FOR NORTH AND EAST
HAWAII INCLUDING WINDWARD KOHALA AND HAMAKUA...

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 415 PM FOR NORTH AND EAST 
HAWAII INCLUDING HILO AND PUNA...

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES UNTIL 400 PM FOR THE ENTIRE BIG 
ISLAND...

AT 118 PM HST...WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE VERY HEAVY
RAINFALL OF AS MUCH AS 3 TO 4 INCHES OVER THE PAST HOUR NEAR AND 
UPSLOPE TO THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST OF HILO.

AT 119 PM HST...RAINFALL CONTINUED HEAVY IN KOHALA...THE AREA AROUND 
KAMUELA...ALONG HIGHWAY 19 TO HONOKAA AND DOWN THE HAMAKUA COAST TO 
LAUPAHOEHOE. 

THE HEAVY RAIN WAS SHOWING LITTLE MOVEMENT AND FLASH FLOODING IS 
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE IN THIS AREA.

THE LATEST RAINFALL REPORTS FROM GAGES AROUND THE AREA INCLUDED
KAMUELA UPPER...5.62 INCHES IN THE PAST 4 HOURS
KAMUELA...3.99 INCHES IN THE PAST 4 HOURS
KAHUA RANCH...3.07B INCHES IN THE PAST 4 HOURS.

WEATHER RADAR INDICATED THAT AS MUCH AS 12 TO 15 INCHES OF RAIN MAY 
HAVE FALLEN OVER PARTS OF KOHALA AND HAMAKUA IN THE PAST 12 HOURS...
AND 3 TO 4 INCHES OF RAIN MAY HAVE FALLEN OVER PARTS OF HILO AND THE 
SURROUNDING SLOPES IN THE PAST HOUR.

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

$$

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 Mar 13, 8:30 PM HST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 8:30 PM HST, 4 hours 15 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST SAT MAR 13 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
NORTHEAST WINDS WILL BRING IN GRADUALLY FEWER AND FEWER SHOWERS AS A
SHEARLINE NEAR THE BIG ISLAND WEAKENS. HOWEVER...THE BIG ISLAND AND
THE ISLANDS OF MAUI COUNTY WILL CONTINUE TO SEE THE BULK OF THE
REMAINING SHOWERS THROUGH MIDWEEK NEXT WEEK. LEEWARD AREAS WILL BE
CLEARER AND DRIER THAN WINDWARD AREAS STATEWIDE. WINDS WILL BE
STRONGEST OVER THE WESTERN END OF THE MAIN ISLAND CHAIN.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS PERSIST ALONG A WEAKENING
SHEARLINE EXTENDING NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST ACROSS EAST MAUI AND THE
BIG ISLAND THIS EVENING. WHILE THE OVERALL COVERAGE OF SHOWERS HAS
DECREASED SINCE THIS AFTERNOON...RADAR SHOWS THAT THERE ARE STILL
PATCHES OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL...MAINLY OVER LOWER WINDWARD
SLOPES OF THE BIG ISLAND AND WITHIN THE ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL.
KAUAI...OAHU AND MOLOKAI LIE WEST OF THE MAIN SHEARLINE CLOUD BAND
BUT ARE AFFECTED BY WARM-TOPPED BROKEN TO OVERCAST LOW CLOUDS. THESE
CLOUDS ARE LESS CONVECTIVE THAN THOSE WITHIN THE CLOUD BAND.
SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW THAT NORTHEAST TRADES IN THE 20 TO 30 MPH RANGE
HAVE MOVED IN BEHIND THE SHEARLINE...WITH THE STRONGEST OF THESE
WINDS NOTED NEAR KAUAI AND OAHU.

A LOW ALONG THE SHEARLINE FAR NORTH OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
WILL MEANDER AROUND TO OUR NORTH FOR A FEW DAYS INSTEAD OF LIFTING
NORTHEASTWARD...THANKS TO MEAGER BUT CONTINUED UPPER AIR SUPPORT
FOR THIS FEATURE. THIS WILL TEMPORARILY BLOCK THE EASTWARD MOVEMENT
OF THE FOLLOWING HIGH...PREVENTING THE EASTWARD SPREAD OF STRONG
TRADE WINDS AND ALLOWING THE SHEARLINE TO REMAIN NEAR THE BIG ISLAND
UNTIL IT WASHES OUT. WHILE ALL OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS WILL
SEE NORTHEAST TRADE FLOW THROUGH THE COMING WEEK...THE TRADES WILL
BE WEAKER AND WETTER OVER THE EASTERN END OF THE ISLAND CHAIN.
MODELS SHOW THE LOW FINALLY SCOOTING OFF TO THE NORTHEAST THURSDAY.
A 1032 MB HIGH WILL THEN BE FREE TO MOVE INTO POSITION TO OUR
NORTH...INDUCING STRONG TRADES AGAIN LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS

POWELL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 14, 9:41 AM HSTFlash Flood WarningHFOHonolulu, Kauai3 hr
Mar 14, 1:15 PM HSTFlash Flood WarningHFOKauai3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Hawaii, 2004Every 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.