Strong southwest winds several hundred miles in advance of an approaching cold front brought frequent gusts of 40 to 60 mph along the north and east portions of Oahu and Maui. The winds accelerated as they moved down the steep slopes of the Koolau Mountains on Oahu, and the steep terrain of west Maui and Haleakala.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
Strong southwest winds several hundred miles in advance of an approaching cold front brought frequent gusts of 40 to 60 mph along the north and east portions of Oahu and Maui. The winds accelerated as they moved down the steep slopes of the Koolau Mountains on Oahu, and the steep terrain of west Maui and Haleakala.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Southwest wind gusts estimated near 60 mph blew tree branches into power lines cutting electricity to about 2,000 residents in portions of the Haiku, Kula, Piiholo-Olinda, Mahinahina/Honokowai, Kahana, and Napili areas.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, December 1996
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5582839.