Alert archive / Hawaii / Flash Flood Warnings in 2005

Flash Flood Warning 6, NWS Honolulu, HI

January 31, 2005Kauai County, Hawaii

NWS Honolulu, HI issued this flash flood warning at Jan 31, 2005, 10:54 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
Jan 31, 2005, 10:54 PM HST (08:54 UTC)
Expired
Feb 1, 2005, 2:00 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, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 22 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 2005-02-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1048 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 2005-02-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 59 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 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
1048 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
700 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
59 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
59 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
164 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.4
Supercell composite
3.6

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000
WGHW50 PHFO 010856
FFWHFO
HIC007-011200-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1054 PM HST MON JAN 31 2005

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN HONOLULU HAS CONTINUED A

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

* UNTIL 200 AM HST

* AT 1044 PM HST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED
  THAT HEAVY RAIN HAD EASED OVER THE ISLAND OF KAUAI. HOWEVER... 
  ADDITIONAL HEAVY SHOWERS ARE DEVELOPING WEST OF THE ISLAND...AND 
  ARE MOVING TOWARD THE EAST. THE GROUND IS SATURATED AND ANY 
  ADDITIONAL RAINFALL COULD LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. THEREFORE...THE 
  FLASH FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN CONTINUED.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO WAINIHA...
  HANALEI...KILAUEA...ANAHOLA...KAPAA...WAILUA...LIHUE...POIPU...
  KALAHEO...WAIMEA...AND KEKAHA..

THIS FLASH FLOOD WARNING REPLACES THE PRE-EXISTING WARNING THAT WAS
IN EFFECT FOR THE ISLAND OF KAUAI.

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 2187 15975 2177 15919 2230 15925 2220 15984

$$

TB
1 follow-up statement
000
WGHW70 PHFO 011046
FFSHFO

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1245 AM HST TUE FEB 1 2005

HIC007-011055-
KAUAI-
1245 AM HST TUE FEB 1 2005

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

HEAVY RAIN HAS EASED FOR NOW...BUT HEAVY SHOWERS MAY DEVELOP LATER 
TODAY OR TONIGHT...AND A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 
WEDNESDAY.

LAT...LON 2187 15975 2177 15919 2230 15925 2220 15984

$$

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 Jan 31, 8:30 PM HST, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 8:30 PM HST, 2 hours 24 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST MON JAN 31 2005

.SYNOPSIS...
A COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE STATE WILL INTERACT WITH THE MOIST AND
UNSTABLE AIR ALREADY OVER THE ISLANDS. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
EXPECTED TO FORM ALONG...AND AHEAD OF THIS FRONT. EXCESSIVE RAINFALL
AND FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE THROUGH MIDWEEK. THE RISK FOR FLASH
FLOODING WILL INITIALLY BE OVER THE WESTERN MAIN ISLANDS
TONIGHT...THEN SPREAD TOWARD MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND LATER TUESDAY.
DRIER AIR WILL SLOWLY OVERSPREAD THE ISLANDS BEHIND THE FRONT...BUT
MAY NOT REACH THE BIG ISLAND UNTIL LATE IN THE WORK WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION..
HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO AFFECT KAUAI AND ARE
KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OF OAHU. THE COLD FRONT...JUST NORTHWEST OF
KAUAI AT 8 PM...IN COMBINATION WITH THE ALREADY UNSTABLE AIRMASS
OVER THE ISLANDS IS HAVING NO TROUBLE PRODUCING HEAVY RAIN AND
THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING. KAUAI HAS AND IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING
THE HIGHEST RAINFALL. WITHIN THE PAST TWO HOURS...BOTH RAIN AND
RIVER GAGES HAVE SHOWN MARKED INCREASES AND A FLASH FLOOD WARNING
WAS ISSUED JUST AFTER 8 PM COVERING THE ENTIRE ISLAND OF KAUAI. IT
APPEARS THE HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE AT LEAST THROUGH THE EARLY
MORNING HOURS THERE BEFORE STARTING TO TAPER OFF. RAINFALL IN THE
VICINITY OF OAHU HAS SO FAR REMAINED OFFSHORE TO THE NORTH...BUT
SHOWERS FORMING IN THE KAUAI CHANNEL WILL MOVE ONSHORE WITHIN THE
NEXT HALF HOUR OR SO. A BIT TO EARLY TO DECIDE IF A WARNING HAS TO
BE ISSUED FOR OAHU...BUT THE INGREDIENTS ARE CERTAINLY IN PLACE.
WILL BE KEEPING A CLOSE WATCH OVER OAHU AS THE RAIN BEGINS TO FALL.
FOCUS WILL SHIFT TOWARD MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND TUESDAY.

.FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
THE COLD FRONT WILL PASS OVER KAUAI TONIGHT AND OAHU EARLY TUESDAY.
THE FRONT IS THEN PROGGED TO SLOW AND MOVE OVER MAUI COUNTY LATER
TUESDAY...STALLING NEAR THE BIG ISLAND BY WEDNESDAY. BEST RAIN
CHANCES WILL BE ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. THE AIRMASS BEHIND THE
FRONT WILL BE DRIER...BUT STILL QUITE UNSTABLE. HAVE LEFT IN
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS BEHIND THE FRONT AS LONG AS THE VERY COLD
MID-LEVEL AIR IS OVER THE ISLANDS.

OUR EXPECTATION CONTINUES TO BE THAT THE FRONT WILL LIKELY GET HUNG
UP NEAR THE BIG ISLAND AS A WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS NORTH OF
THE ISLANDS ON WEDNESDAY. THUS...ONLY GRADUALLY DECREASING CHANCES
OF RAIN FOR THE SOUTHERN END OF THE CHAIN AS UPPER LEVEL HEIGHTS
BEGIN TO RISE.

FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT THE SNOW LEVEL SHOULD LOWER TO NEAR
10000 FEET AS THE DEEP LAYERED MOISTURE APPROACHES THE BIG ISLAND.
WINTER STORM WATCH WILL CONTINUE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY
SNOWFALL FOR THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY.

&&

.MARINE...
BUOY 51001 SHOWS THAT THE NORTHWEST SWELL IS SLOWLY TRENDING DOWN AS
EXPECTED. WILL LEAVE HIGH SURF ADVISORY UP FOR TONIGHT...AND
EVALUATE WHETHER OR NOT TO DROP THE ADVISORY WITH THE 4 AM PACKAGE.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH...KAUAI OAHU AND MOLOKAI THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

FLASH FLOOD WATCH...LANAI MAUI AND BIG ISLAND TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.

WINTER STORM WATCH...BIG ISLAND SUMMITS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY...N AND W FACING SHORES OF NIIHAU KAUAI OAHU
                             AND MOLOKAI.
                     N FACING SHORES OF MAUI.

&&

R BALLARD

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 31, 2:25 PM HSTSpecial Marine WarningHFO60 min
Jan 31, 3:25 PM HSTSpecial Marine WarningHFO65 min
Jan 31, 7:43 PM HSTSpecial Marine WarningHFO92 min
Jan 31, 8:01 PM HSTFlash Flood WarningHFOKauai3 hr
Jan 31, 8:30 PM HSTSpecial Marine WarningHFO2 hr
Jan 31, 9:36 PM HSTSpecial Marine WarningHFO84 min
Jan 31, 11:37 PM HSTSpecial Marine WarningHFO113 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Hawaii, 2005Every 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.