Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 44, NWS Honolulu, HI

March 23, 2004Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Mar 23, 2004, 10:45 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 outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 23, 2004, 10:45 AM HST (20:45 UTC)
Expired: Mar 23, 2004, 1:45 PM 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 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 89 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: 81 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 600 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 15 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -10 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 128 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 232045
FFWHI 
HIZ004-232345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1045 AM HST TUE MAR 23 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR
  WINDWARD KOHALA AND HAMAKUA

* UNTIL 145 PM HST

* AT 1036 AM HST...RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER WAIPIO
  VALLEY. THE AREA OF HEAVY RAIN IS NEARLY STATIONARY.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  WAIPIO VALLEY...HONOKAA...KAMUELA...OOKALA

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.

LAT...LON 2022 15590 1994 15563 2006 15538 2033 15579
$$

MATSUDA

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGHW70 PHFO 232234
FFSHI 
HIZ004-232330-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1227 PM HST TUE MAR 23 2004

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES UNTIL 145 PM HST TUESDAY FOR 
WINDWARD KOHALA AND HAMAKUA...

AT 1230 PM HST...WEATHER RADAR CONTINUED TO INDICATE VERY HEAVY
RAINFALL NEAR HONOKAA AND WAIPIO VALLEY.  RADAR RAIN RATES ARE IN 
EXCESS OF 3 TO 4 INCHES PER HOUR.

CIVIL DEFENSE OFFICIALS REPORT THAT THE ROAD FROM HONOKAA TO WAIPIO 
VALLEY IS FLOODED AND 6 TO 7 HOMES IN WAIPIO VALLEY HAVE SUFFERED 
FLOOD DAMAGES.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DRIVE ACROSS FLOODED ROADS.  TURN AROUND...DO NOT 
DROWN.

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

$$

KODAMA/MATSUDA

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 23, 10:00 AM HST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 23, 10:00 AM HST, 45 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST TUE MAR 23 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
 THE OCCASIONALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE SLOWLY DIMINISHING FROM
 TOMORROW. TRADE WINDS WILL REMAIN GUSTY THROUGH THE WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...THERE ARE TWO INGREDIENTS FOR HAWAIIS WEATHER. THE
 FIRST IS THE PERSISTENT MOISTURE OF AN OLD SHEARLINE THAT FIRST
 ARRIVED OVER THE STATE THIS PAST WEEK END...ITS MOISTURE HAS
 ESSENTIALLY STALLED OVER THE ISLANDS AND WILL LIKELY REMAIN WITH
 US THROUGH SATURDAY. THE SECOND HAS BEEN AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH
 WHICH HAS ENHANCED SOME OF THE SHEARLINE SHOWERS INTO HEAVIER
 ONES. THE TROUGH...AT ITS STRONGEST TODAY...SHOULD BEGIN GRADUALLY
 WEAKENING TOMORROW LOSING MOST ITS HEAVY RAIN ENHANCING ABILITY
 BY THURSDAY. MEANWHILE AT THE SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING WILL
 REMAIN STRONG THROUGHOUT THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS KEEPING TRADE WINDS
 PERSISTENTLY STRONGER THAN NORMAL. IN SUM...THE TREND IS TOWARD
 SLOW IMPROVEMENT AFTER TODAY WITH SOME LEEWARD SUN..WHICH HAS
 ALREADY RETURNED TO KAUAI THIS MORNING..RETURNING TO ALL ISLANDS
 THURSDAY ONWARD.

&&

.WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
 HIGH SURF ADVISORY...EAST AND NORTH FACING SHORES
 FLASH FLOOD WATCH....ALL ISLANDS EXCEPT KAUAI

MATSUDA

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Mar 23, 1:40 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	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.