Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 61, NWS Honolulu, HI

October 15, 2004Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Oct 15, 2004, 10:40 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
Oct 15, 2004, 10:40 AM HST (20:40 UTC)
Expired
Oct 15, 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

Lihue, (PHLI), launched 12:00Z, 8.7 hours before the alert went out and 9 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, Lihue, at 12:00Z on 2004-10-15Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 391 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, Lihue, at 12:00Z on 2004-10-15The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 24 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
391 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-7 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
916 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
24 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
32 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 152043
FFWHFO
HIC007-152345-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1040 AM HST FRI OCT 15 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 145 PM HST

* AT 1033 AM HST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  FLASH FLOODING FROM A STORM OVER WAILUA AND KAPAA. THE STORM
  CELLS PRODUCING FLASH FLOODING WERE MOVING NORTH AT 15 MILES PER 
  HOUR WITH MORE HEAVY RAINS MOVING TOWARD KAUAI.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
  KAPAA...WAILUA...LIHUE...ANAHOLA...KIPU FALLS AND HANALEI

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 2182 15953 2191 15932 2222 15928 2223 15953

$$

KODAMA
1 follow-up statement
000
WGHW70 PHFO 152327
FFSHFO
HIC007-152355-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
125 PM HST FRI OCT 15 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR EASTERN KAUAI COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

RADAR INDICATES THAT THE THREAT OF FLOODING RAINFALL HAS ENDED 
ACROSS KAUAI. THEREFORE...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR KAUAI IS 
CANCELLED. 

LAT...LON 2182 15953 2191 15932 2222 15928 2223 15953

$$

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 Oct 15, 10:00 AM HST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 15, 10:00 AM HST, 40 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST FRI OCT 15 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
LOW PRESSURE NORTHWEST OF THE MAIN ISLAND CHAIN WILL KEEP KAUAI
UNDER THE THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE DAY TODAY. HEAVY
SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THE REMAINING ISLANDS THIS AFTERNOON. AFTER
TODAY...THE LOW WILL MOVE AWAY...ALLOWING HIGH PRESSURE AND TRADE
WIND WEATHER TO RETURN THIS WEEKEND AND THROUGH NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A DEEP LOW LOCATED NEAR 30N 170W HAS AN ASSOCIATED TROUGH WHICH
EXTENDS ROUGHLY NORTH TO SOUTH ABOUT 150 MILES WEST OF KAUAI. GOOD
SURFACE CONVERGENCE ALONG THE TROUGH AND GOOD DIFLUENCE OR
DIVERGENCE ALOFT HAS TRIGGERED AN ACTIVE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS
ACROSS A SWATH OF THE CENTRAL NORTH PACIFIC 90 MILES EITHER SIDE OF
A LINE FROM 22N 162W TO 18N 165W...WEST AND SOUTHWEST OF KAUAI AND
NIIHAU. WE EXPECT THE VAST BULK OF THIS BAD WEATHER TO REMAIN WEST
OF KAUAI...BUT LOW LEVEL CONVERGENT SOUTHEAST FLOW MAY TRIGGER HEAVY
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS NEAR KAUAI TODAY. LIGHT SURFACE WINDS AND
GOOD DIFLUENCE ALOFT MAY TRIGGER HEAVY SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON ON THE
REMAINING ISLANDS.

AFTER TODAY...MODELS SHOW THE LOW AND TROUGH WILL MOVE AWAY TO THE
WEST NORTHWEST...ALLOWING HIGH PRESSURE NORTHEAST OF THE MAIN
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS TO FILL IN TOWARDS THE SOUTHWEST. THIS WILL SWING
WINDS AROUND TO EASTERLIES AGAIN AND HERALD THE RETURN OF TRADE WIND
WEATHER THIS WEEKEND. THE DEEP LOW AND ASSOCIATED TROUGH ARE BIG
RAINMAKERS...SO IT IS PRUDENT TO MENTION SLIGHT UNCERTAINTY IN THE
FORECAST. SO FAR...NEITHER THE LOW NOR THE TROUGH HAS MADE THE
EXPECTED MOVE WEST. BOTH ARE STATIONARY. WE WILL WATCH TO SEE IF
THIS SYSTEM OR THE WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH IT TAKES AN UNEXPECTED
MOVE TO THE EAST. OBVIOUSLY...SUCH A MOVE WOULD DRASTICALLY CHANGE
THE NEAR-TERM FORECAST AND WOULD LIKELY REQUIRE THE ISSUANCE OF
APPROPRIATE WATCHES AND WARNINGS. AGAIN...IF THE MODEL SCENARIO
TAKES PLACE...THE VAST BULK OF THE RAIN AND BAD WEATHER WILL REMAIN
WEST OF THE ISLANDS.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE

&&

POWELL

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.