Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 52, NWS Honolulu, HI

August 3, 2004Hawaii County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Aug 3, 2004, 6:43 AM HST for Hawaii 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
Aug 3, 2004, 6:43 AM HST (16:43 UTC)
Expired
Aug 3, 2004, 9:45 AM HST
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Honolulu, HI
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Hawaii 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, 4.7 hours before the alert went out and 88 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 12:00Z on 2004-08-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1035 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 12:00Z on 2004-08-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -59 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 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
1035 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
639 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
1 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-58 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 031649
FFWHFO
HIC001-031945-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
643 AM HST TUE AUG 3 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  THE NORTH AND SOUTH KONA DISTRICTS OF THE ISLAND OF HAWAII IN 
  HAWAII COUNTY

* UNTIL 945 AM HST

* AT 630 AM HST...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED FLASH
  FLOODING FROM A STORM NEAR KAILUA KONA SOUTHWARD TO CAPTAIN COOK.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF
STREAMS...HIGHWAYS...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. TURN AROUND...DON/T
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 1996 15576 1997 15602 1914 15600 1920 15563

$$

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 Aug 3, 4:00 AM HST, 2 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 3, 4:00 AM HST, 2 hours 43 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
400 AM HST TUE AUG 3 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR THE ENTIRE STATE.
THE REMNANT LOW OF TROPICAL STORM DARBY...CENTERED 25 MILES EAST OF
HANA...IS BRINGING HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO THE
BIG ISLAND AND MAUI. EXPECT SHOWERS...WITH SOME ANCHORED HEAVY
SHOWERS THAT MAY CAUSE FLASH FLOODING...TODAY...SPREADING WESTWARD
TO THE OTHER ISLANDS. TRADE WINDS CONTINUE OVER THE SMALLER
ISLANDS...BUT WILL BECOME VARIABLE AS THE LOW CONTINUES WESTWARD AT
LESS THAN 10 MILES PER HOUR.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
EX-DARBY...APPARENTLY STILL A CLOSED SURFACE LOW...WAS ABOUT 25
MILES EAST OF HANA AT 200 AM THIS MORNING. A WIDE SHIELD OF DEEP
TROPICAL MOISTURE...WITH EMBEDDED HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS SURROUNDS THIS CENTER AND WILL BE AFFECTING ALL THE
MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS TODAY INTO WEDNESDAY. HEAVY SHOWERS ARE
OCCURRING MAINLY ON MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND...AND A FLASH FLOOD
WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE STATE THROUGH 4 PM TODAY. HEAVY
SHOWERS...SOME OF WHICH MAY BECOME ANCHORED...MAY PRODUCE FLASH
FLOODING STATE-WIDE TODAY. A 1034 MB HIGH FAR NORTH OF THE STATE
WILL KEEP TRADE WINDS OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS TODAY...BUT WINDS
WILL BE AFFECTED BY A WEAK CYCLONIC CIRCULATION AROUND A SURFACE LOW
THAT REMAINS FROM TROPICAL STORM DARBY. WINDS ON THE BIG ISLAND OF
HAWAII ARE ALREADY LIGHT SOUTHERLY DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF THIS LOW.

AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE JUST WEST OF KAUAI IS HELPING
PRODUCE THE HEAVY SHOWERS BY DESTABILIZING THE WARM HUMID AIR WITHIN
THE TROPICAL LOW CIRCULATION. THIS INSTABILITY IS EVIDENT ON BOTH
THE LIHUE AND HILO SOUNDINGS. A K-INDEX OF 37...WITH A LIFTED INDEX
OF -4.1 INDICATES A VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE BIG ISLAND AND
WITHIN THE CIRCULATION OF THE REMNANT LOW NEAR MAUI.

MODELS ARE KEEPING WINDS SOUTHEASTERLY ON WEDNESDAY...AT THE REMNANT
LOW MOVES BY KAUAI...AND THE HEAVY RAINS SHOULD BECOME MORE
LIMITED... MAINLY TO KAUAI AND OAHU. BY THURSDAY OUR MORE NORMAL
TRADE WINDS WILL RETURN...ALONG WITH DRIER AND MORE STABLE WEATHER.

&&

.LONG TERM...
WE ARE ALSO WATCHING ANOTHER AREA OF THREATENING WEATHER...TROPICAL
DEPRESSION SIX-E...LESS THAN 1600 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF HILO. THE
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IN MIAMI HAS REDUCED THE CHANCES OF THIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPING...BUT THE AVIATION MODEL IS STILL BRINGING A LARGE
SLUG OF TROPICAL MOISTURE OVER THE STATE LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY.
THUS...HEAVY RAINFALL IS AGAIN A POSSIBLITY FOR THE COMING WEEKEND.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH ALL ISLANDS.

&&

FARRELL

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 2, 7:29 PM HSTFlash Flood WarningHFOHawaii3 hr
Aug 3, 4:40 AM HSTFlash Flood WarningHFOHawaii3 hr
Aug 3, 9:32 AM HSTFlash Flood WarningHFOHawaii3 hr
Aug 3, 11:27 AM HSTFlash Flood WarningHFOKalawao3 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.