Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 4, NWS Honolulu, HI

January 23, 2004Honolulu County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Jan 23, 2004, 3:10 PM HST for Honolulu 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: Jan 23, 2004, 3:10 PM HST (01:10 UTC)
Expired: Jan 23, 2004, 6:15 PM HST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Honolulu, HI
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Honolulu 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, 1.2 hours before the alert went out and 94 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: 560 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -9 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 694 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 40 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 43 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 65 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 240114
FFWHI 
HIZ007-240415-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
310 PM HST FRI JAN 23 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  WEST HAWAII INCLUDING LEEWARD KOHALA 

* UNTIL 615 PM HST

* AT 306 PM HST...RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER WAIKOLOA...OR
  ABOUT 27 MILES NORTHEAST OF KAILUA-KONA.  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.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF
STREAMS...HIGHWAYS...UNDERPASSES AND LOW LYING AREAS.

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.

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.


LAT...LON 1998 15592 1980 15595 1990 15561 2024 15590

$$

CRAIG

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGHW70 PHFO 240325
FFSHI 
HIZ007-240430-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
530 PM HST FRI JAN 23 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELED FOR WEST HAWAII INCLUDING
LEEWARD KOHALA...

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM HST SATURDAY...

WEATHER RADAR INDICATED THE HEAVY RAINFALL OVER WAIKOLOA AND LEEWARD 
KOHALA HAS ENDED....AND THERE IS NO LONGER A THREAT FOR SERIOUS 
FLOODING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TV OR RADIO 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 Jan 23, 2:15 PM HST, 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 2:15 PM HST, 55 minutes before

NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE INDEPENDENT
STATE OF SAMOA

TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...
THE COMBINATION OF ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND WEAK LOW LEVEL
WIND CONVERGENCE IS CAUSING SKIES TO BE MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED
SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AROUND YOUR AREA. MOST OF THE
ACTIVITY PRESENTLY LIES TO YOUR WEST AND EAST. LITTLE CHANGE IS
EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. WINDS WILL BE EASTERLY AT 10 TO 15 KT
WITH LOCAL LAND AND SEA BREEZES OCCURRING IN PLACES DURING THE DAY
AND NIGHT. NORTHWEST SWELLS WILL CONTINUE TO ROLL IN WITH SWELL
HEIGHTS EXPECTED IN THE 4 TO 6 FOOT RANGE.

OUTLOOK FOR MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...
LITTLE CHANGE IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD.

NARRATIVE DISCUSSION FOR TUVALU

TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...TUVALU TIME...
THE ABOVE MENTIONED MOISTURE CONVERGENCE WILL KEEP SKIES MOSTLY
CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AT TIMES.
WINDS WILL BE EASTERLY AT AROUND 10 KT.

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.