Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2004

Flash Flood Warning 66, NWS Honolulu, HI

October 27, 2004Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Oct 27, 2004, 9:37 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 27, 2004, 9:37 AM HST (19:37 UTC)
Expired: Oct 27, 2004, 12:30 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, 7.6 hours before the alert went out and 29 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: 1136 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 877 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 14 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 18 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 13 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 271942 CCA
FFWHFO
HIC007-272230-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
937 AM HST WED OCT 27 2004

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS CONTINUED A

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

* UNTIL 1230 PM HST

* AT 927 AM HST...LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORTED THE 
  CONTINUED CLOSURE OF THE HANALEI BRIDGE. HEAVY RAINFALL IS 
  BEGINNING TO DIMINISH...BUT RUNOFF FROM EARLIER STORMS CONTINUES 
  TO RESULT IN FLOODING OF THE ROADWAY IN THE HANALEI AREA. 
 
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

LAT...LON 2224 15947 2218 15948 2218 15954 2224 15954

$$

BIRCHARD

1 follow-up statement

000
WGHW70 PHFO 272131
FFSHFO
HIC007-272230-

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1130 AM HST WED OCT 27 2004

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

...A FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE ISLANDS OF KAUAI AND OAHU REMAINS IN 
EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM HST...

LATEST OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT THIS MORNING/S HEAVY RAINFALL ON 
KAUAI HAS DIMINISHED...AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS REPORT THAT THE 
HANALEI BRIDGE IS NOW OPEN.

WHILE RAINFALL AND STREAM LEVELS HAVE LEVELED OFF FOR NOW... 
ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TV OR RADIO FOR FURTHER 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INFORMATION.

LAT...LON 2224 15947 2218 15948 2218 15954 2224 15954

$$

BIRCHARD


$$

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 27, 9:30 AM HST, 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 27, 9:30 AM HST, 7 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN FRANCISCO CA
930 AM HST WED OCT 27 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
EASTERLY TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY. WINDS WILL SHIFT
TO SOUTHEASTERLIES NEAR KAUAI SUNDAY AND PERSIST THROUGH LATE MONDAY
AS A TROUGH DEEPENS WEST OF THE ISLAND CHAIN. MEANWHILE REMNANTS OF
A FRONTAL BAND EMBEDDED IN THE EASTERLIES WILL INCREASE CLOUDS AND
SHOWERS OVER THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A 1029 MB HIGH APPROXIMATELY 1300 NM NORTHEAST OF THE HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS WILL GRADUALLY STRENGTHEN WHILE REMAINING NEARLY STATIONARY
INTO THE WEEKEND. AS THE HIGH STRENGTHENS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT
OVER THE ISLAND WILL INCREASE RESULTING IN SLIGHTLY STRONGER TRADES
IN THE 15 TO 25 KT RANGE THROUGH SATURDAY. BY SUNDAY THE HIGH WILL
BEGIN SHIFTING TO THE EAST DECREASING THE PRESSURE GRADIENT AND
HENCE THE WINDS. WINDS WILL THEN SHIFT TO AN EAST-SOUTHEAST
DIRECTION AS A SURFACE TROUGH DEVELOPS WEST OF THE ISLAND CHAIN.

.FROM PERVIOUS DISSCUSSION...
FORECAST REMAINS ON TRACK...GFS CONTINUES TO SHOWS THE MOIST
REMNANTS OF AN OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY EMBEDDED IN THE EASTERLY FLOW
WILL REACH THE ISLANDS SUNDAY. THIS FEATURE HAS BEEN MAINTAINED IN
THE GRIDS...IN THE FORM OF A CLOUDIER AND RAINIER SATURDAY THROUGH
MONDAY PERIOD. WINDS WILL GRADUAL SHIFT BACK TO EASTERLIES TUESDAY
AND BEYOND.

&&

.MARINE...
A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE SOUTH FACING SHORES TODAY
THROUGH SATURDAY. A NORTHWEST SWELL HAS ALSO REACHED THE ISLANDS
HOWEVER IT IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY LEVEL. SEE HFOSRFHFO
AND HFOMWSHFO FOR DETAILS.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF SOUTH FACING SHORES ALL ISLANDS.

&&

HORNE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 27, 6:58 AM HST, 2 hours 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
658 AM HST WED OCT 27 2004

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

0654 AM     FLOOD            HANALEI                 22.21N 159.50W
10/27/2004                   KAUAI              HI   NWS EMPLOYEE

            HANALEI BRIDGE CLOSURE DUE TO HIGH WATER LEVELS.

&&

HARLAN

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Oct 26, 6:49 PM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu	3 hr
Oct 27, 12:00 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Honolulu	3 hr
Oct 27, 6:47 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.