Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 62, NWS Honolulu, HI

October 24, 2004Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Oct 24, 2004, 10:12 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
Oct 24, 2004, 10:12 PM HST (08:12 UTC)
Expired
Oct 25, 2004, 1:15 AM 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 00:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 25 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 00:00Z on 2004-10-25Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 962 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 00:00Z on 2004-10-25The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 15 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
962 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-8 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1073 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
15 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
33 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.4

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000
WGHW50 PHFO 250813
FFWHFO
HIC007-251115-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1012 PM HST SUN OCT 24 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A

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

* UNTIL 115 AM HST

* AT 949 PM HST...A STREAM GAGE ON THE HANALEI RIVER INDICATED A
  RAPID RISE ABOVE FLASH FLOOD THRESHOLD FROM A STORM 11 MILES SOUTH
  OF HANALEI. THE HANALEI RIVER MAY RISE ABOVE ITS BANKS WITHIN THE 
  HOUR.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...
   HANALEI...


BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE THE
DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.

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.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL MEDIA SOURCES FOR THE
LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. REPORT FLOODING TO THE POLICE FOR
IMMEDIATE RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

LAT...LON 2206 15949 2222 15941 2229 15952 2218 15965

$$
1 follow-up statement
000
WGHW70 PHFO 251028
FFSHFO
HIC007-251130-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1230 AM HST MON OCT 25 2004

...THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR THE HANALEI RIVER ON THE ISLAND OF 
KAUAI IN KAUAI COUNTY IS CANCELLED...

THE HANALEI RIVER GAGE INDICATES THAT THE RIVER WATER HAS LOWERED.
THE THREAT OF FLOODING ALONG THE HANALEI RIVER HAS ENDED.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR OTHER LOCAL MEDIA SOURCES FOR THE
LATEST SEVERE WEATHER INFORMATION. REPORT FLOODING TO THE POLICE FOR
IMMEDIATE RELAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

LAT...LON 2206 15949 2222 15941 2229 15952 2218 15965

$$

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 24, 8:30 PM HST, 1 hour 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 24, 8:30 PM HST, 1 hour 42 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST SUN OCT 24 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
A TROUGH TO THE WEST OF THE ISLANDS WILL CAUSE WINDS TO BECOME
SOUTHEASTERLIES STATEWIDE MONDAY. FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS...LOCALLY
HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE...MAINLY OVER
MAUKA SECTIONS OF THE ISLANDS EACH AFTERNOON AND EVENING. TRADE WIND
WEATHER WILL RETURN AROUND THURSDAY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
THE WINDS ARE SLOWLY SWINGING AROUND TO THE SOUTHEAST IN RESPONSE TO
A TROUGH DEEPENING NEAR THE DATELINE. BY ERODING THE SOUTHWEST FLANK
OF THE SURFACE HIGH FAR NORTH OF HAWAII...THE TROUGH WILL KEEP THE
PREVAILING WINDS OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE SMALLER
ISLANDS WILL SEE LIGHT WINDS...AS THEY WILL BE IN THE WIND SHADOW OF
THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI VOLCANOES. THE LIGHT WINDS WILL LEAD TO
AFTERNOON AND EVENING CONVECTION IN THE FORM OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OVER LAND.

AIDING IN THE CHANCE OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS AN UPPER
LOW OVER AND NORTHWEST OF THE ISLANDS. IT WILL DESTABILIZE THE
ATMOSPHERE BY PROVIDING COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT...THEREBY STEEPENING
THE TEMPERATURE LAPSE RATE. THE LOW ALOFT WILL ALSO ELIMINATE THE
SUBSIDENCE INVERSION...WHICH WHEN IN PLACE USUALLY LIMITS CLOUD
GROWTH. ALSO HELPING IN THE FORMATION OF DEEP CONVECTION WILL BE
PLUME CLOUDS...WHICH WILL BE AIMING AT DOWNWIND ISLANDS IN THE
PREVAILING SOUTHEAST WINDS.

BY THURSDAY...MODELS SAY THAT THE UPPER LOW WILL MOVE AWAY AND THE
SURFACE LOW WEST OF THE ISLANDS WILL WEAKEN AND SLIDE WEST. THIS
WILL ALLOW HIGH PRESSURE NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS TO SPREAD WEST AND
SOUTHWEST...RESTORING THE TRADE WINDS.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.

&&

CRAIG

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.