Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 45, NWS Honolulu, HI

March 23, 2004Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Mar 23, 2004, 1:40 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: Mar 23, 2004, 1:40 PM HST (23:40 UTC)
Expired: Mar 23, 2004, 4:40 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, 11.7 hours before the alert went out and 83 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 232337
FFWHI 
HIZ004-240240-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS CONTINUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR
  WINDWARD KOHALA AND HAMAKUA DISTRICTS OF THE BIG ISLAND

* UNTIL 440 PM HST

* AT 130 PM HST...RADAR INDICATED CONTINUED HEAVY RAIN FROM HONOKAA 
  TO WAIPIO VALLEY. CIVIL DEFENSE HAS ALSO REPORTED FLASH FLOODING.

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

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM IS CAUSING FLASH FLOODING OF 
STREAMS AND ROADS 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 2028 15581 2023 15589 1985 15553 2002 15526
$$

KODAMA/MATSUDA

1 follow-up statement

000 
WGHW70 PHFO 240239
FFSHI 
HIZ004-240330-

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

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS EXPIRED FOR THE WINDWARD KOHALA AND 
HAMAKUA DISTRICTS OF THE BIG ISLAND...

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE BIG ISLAND UNTIL 4 
AM HST WEDNESDAY...

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

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

$$

KODAMA

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, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 23, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 40 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, 10:45 AM 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.