Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 54, NWS Honolulu, HI

August 3, 2004Kalawao County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Aug 3, 2004, 11:27 AM HST for Kalawao 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, 11:27 AM HST (21:27 UTC)
Expired: Aug 3, 2004, 2:30 PM HST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Honolulu, HI
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Kalawao 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, 9.5 hours before the alert went out and 159 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: 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 032130
FFWHFO
HIC009-040030-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1127 AM HST TUE AUG 3 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  THE ISLAND OF MAUI IN MAUI COUNTY

* UNTIL 230 PM HST

* AT 1124 AM HST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  VERY HEAVY RAIN OVER SOUTHEASTERN HALEAKALA. THE STORM WAS NEARLY 
  STATIONARY.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE KIPAHULU...HAMOA...KAUPO AND ULUPALAKUA

THIS FLASH FLOOD WARNING REPLACES THE URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD 
ADVISORY THAT WAS IN EFFECT.

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...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 2067 15597 2076 15604 2066 15637 2056 15637

$$

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 Aug 3, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 3, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST TUE AUG 3 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
THE REMNANTS OF DARBY WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE ISLANDS THROUGH
WEDNESDAY AS IT MAKES ITS WESTWARD JOURNEY ACROSS THE ISLANDS.
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS CAN BE EXPECTED. MORE
TYPICAL TRADE WIND WEATHER CAN BE EXPECTED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS
SHOWERS BECOME MORE ISOLATED MAINLY OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE ISLANDS THIS
MORNING AS THE REMNANT MOISTURE OF DARBY INTERACTS WITH AN UNSTABLE
ATMOSPHERE IN PLACE OVER THE ISLANDS. THE INSTABILITY IS DUE TO AN
UPPER LEVEL TROUGH JUST WEST OF KAUAI. THE THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN
AFFECTING MAINLY THE BIG ISLAND AND ADJACENT WATERS BUT THE REST OF
THE STATE MAY SEE MORE OF THE ACTIVITY LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT.
SHOWERY WEATHER LIKELY LINGER INTO WEDNESDAY ESPECIALLY OVER THE
WESTERN END OF THE MAIN ISLAND CHAIN SINCE THE MOISTURE FIELD IS
ONLY MOVING GRADUALLY WESTWARD. WINDS ARE BASICALLY LIGHT TRADES
ACROSS THE STATE BUT THE REMNANT LOW AND ASSOCIATED THUNDERSTORMS IS
CAUSING SOME VARIABILITY IN WIND DIRECTION AND SPEEDS ESPECIALLY
AROUND MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND.

BY THURSDAY AND FRIDAY MORE TYPICAL TRADE WIND WEATHER IS EXPECTED
THANKS TO HIGH PRESSURE FAR NORTH OF THE STATE. TRADE WINDS WILL BE
IN THE 10 TO 20 MPH RANGE WITH SHOWERS MAINLY CONFINED TO WINDWARD
AND MAUKA AREAS.

&&

.LONG TERM...
WE ARE ALSO WATCHING ANOTHER AREA OF SHOWERY WEATHER THAT MAY
APPROACH THE ISLANDS OVER THE WEEKEND. TROPICAL DEPRESSION SIX-E IS
LOCATED ABOUT 1500 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF HONOLULU. THE NATIONAL
HURRICANE CENTER IN MIAMI HAS REDUCED THE CHANCES OF THIS SYSTEM
DEVELOPING BUT THE GFS AND NOGAPS MODELS STILL BRING A LARGE AREA OF
TROPICAL MOISTURE OVER THE STATE LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY BRINGING
THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAINFALL ONCE AGAIN TO THE STATE.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WARNING NORTH AND SOUTH KONA ON THE BIG ISLAND.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY EAST SHORES OF KAUAI OAHU MOLOKAI MAUI AND THE
BIG ISLAND.
FLASH FLOOD WATCH ALL ISLANDS.

&&

BURKE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 3, 7:48 AM HST, 3 hours 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
748 AM HST TUE AUG 03 2004

..TIME...   ...EVENT...     ...CITY LOCATION...      ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....     ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0600 AM     FLASH FLOOD      CAPTAIN COOK            19.50N 155.92W
08/03/2004                   HAWAII             HI   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            SAINT JOHNS ROAD CLOSED DUE TO FLOODING.

0630 AM     FLASH FLOOD      KAILUA-KONA             19.64N 155.99W
08/03/2004                   HAWAII             HI   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS CLOSED NORTH KONA. EXCESSIVE RUNOFF
            REPORTED.

&&

BURKE

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Aug 2, 7:29 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Hawaii	3 hr
Aug 3, 4:40 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Hawaii	3 hr
Aug 3, 6:43 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Hawaii	3 hr
Aug 3, 9:32 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Hawaii	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.