Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2005

Flash Flood Warning 14, NWS Honolulu, HI

February 4, 2005Honolulu County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Feb 4, 2005, 4:41 AM HST for Honolulu 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: Feb 4, 2005, 4:41 AM HST (14:41 UTC)
Expired: Feb 4, 2005, 7:45 AM HST
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: NWS Honolulu, HI
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Honolulu 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, 2.7 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: 110 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -23 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 812 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 22 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: -16 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: -18 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 041448
FFWHFO
HIC003-041745-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
441 AM HST FRI FEB 4 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
  THE ISLAND OF OAHU IN HONOLULU COUNTY

* UNTIL 745 AM HST

* AT 435 AM HST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  HEAVY RAINS OVER THE SLOPES OF THE KOOLAUS.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO 
  AIEA...HALAWA...MOANALUA...PEARL CITY...MILILANI...HONOLULU... 
  KANEOHE AND KAILUA.

THIS FLASH FLOOD WARNING REPLACES THE FLOOD ADVISORY THAT WAS IN
EFFECT.

HEAVY RAINS WERE ESPECIALLY HEAVY OVER THE MOANALUA...KALIHI AND 
NUUANU STREAMS.

EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM THIS STORM WILL CAUSE FLASH FLOODING OF
STREAMS...HIGHWAYS...UNDERPASSES 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 2150 15810 2123 15780 2137 15770 2167 15793

$$

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 Feb 4, 4:00 AM HST, 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 4:00 AM HST, 41 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
400 AM HST FRI FEB 4 2005

CORRECTED ISSUANCE TIME ABOVE

.SYNOPSIS...
A TROUGH OVER THE ISLANDS WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
THE THREAT OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR
MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND DUE TO INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE
TROUGH. CLOUD COVER AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF HEAVY SHOWERS WILL
GRADUALLY DECREASE AS THE TROUGH WEAKENS. WITH THE TROUGH
WEAKENING...TRADE WINDS MAY RETURN EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A STUBBORN AND SHARP TROUGH OVER THE ISLANDS BOTH AT THE SURFACE AND
ALOFT CONTINUES TO PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS THIS MORNING...CONCENTRATED MAINLY OVER MAUI COUNTY
AND THE BIG ISLAND. OVER THE PAST TWO HOURS...RAINFALL HAS STARTED
TO AFFECT OAHU...THOUGH COMING FROM A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. WITH THE
TROUGH AXIS IN THE KAIWI CHANNEL...SHOWERS ARE HITTING MAUI COUNTY
AND THE BIG ISLAND FROM THE SOUTH...THEN REVERSING COURSE NORTHEAST
OF THE STATE AND RETURNING TO HIT KAUAI AND OAHU. THE BULK OF
MOISTURE BEING RECYCLED AND REDIRECTED IS MAINLY FOCUSED ON OAHU AT
THE MOMENT...CREATING CONDITIONS SIMILAR TO WET TRADES.

EARLY THIS MORNING...ROAD CLOSURES IN THE KAU DISTRICT ON THE BIG
ISLAND PROMPTED THE ISSUANCE OF A FLASH FLOOD WARNING. AS SHOWERS
CONTINUE TO FORM TO THE SOUTH AND MOVE ONSHORE...THE FLASH FLOOD
WARNING WILL LIKELY REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS...AND
MAY EVEN NEED TO BE EXPANDED TO OTHER AREAS. OTHER AREAS OF CONCERN
THIS MORNING IS THE EASTERN TIP OF MAUI FROM KIPAHULU THROUGH HANA.
UP TO THIS POINT...THE FORECAST REASONING WAS TO ASSOCIATE THE HEAVY
SHOWERS WITH THE AREAS ALONG AND EAST OF THE TROUGH AXIS...BUT WITH
WHAT WE ARE SEEING ON OAHU...THIS PHILOSOPHY NO LONGER HOLDS.

THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS HAVE BEEN A TOUGH FORECAST...AND THE CURRENT
SCENARIO IS NOT DIFFERENT. MODELS DO NOT HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON
THINGS...AND ARE LACKING RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY. WITH TRADES EARLIER
EXPECTED BY THE WEEKEND...IT NOW APPEARS THAT THE TROUGH WILL LINGER
OVER THE ISLANDS A BIT LONGER IN A WEAKENED STATE...RATHER THAN
DRIFT OFF TOWARD THE EAST. IN FACT...GFS IS NOW ADVERTISING THE
TROUGH TO SHIFT WESTWARD...ESSENTIALLY SHUTTING OFF THE TRADES OVER
THE WEEKEND. THE TROUGH AXIS HAS DEMONSTRATED A SLIGHT WESTWARD
DRIFT OVERNIGHT...BUT WHETHER THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE IS QUITE
UNCERTAIN. WITH AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AROUND...CHANCE FOR FOR
LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE
EASTERN HALF OF THE CHAIN AT LEAST THROUGH TODAY....AND WE MIGHT BE
IN FOR A MUGGY COUPLE OF DAYS OVER THE WEEKEND. AS SUCH...OUR DATE
WITH THE TRADEWINDS IS STILL UP IN THE AIR...BUT WE ARE CURRENTLY
SHOOTING FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR OAHU MAUI MOLOKAI LANAI KAHOOLAWE AND THE BIG
ISLAND THROUGH TONIGHT.

&&

TANABE

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Feb 4, 2:41 AM HST	Special Marine Warning	HFO		94 min
Feb 4, 3:01 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Hawaii	3 hr
Feb 4, 5:40 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Hawaii	3 hr
Feb 4, 8:34 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Hawaii	3 hr
Feb 4, 11:21 AM HST	Flash Flood Warning	HFO	Hawaii	3 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Hawaii, 2005 Every flash flood warning in 2005

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.