Flash Flood, Honolulu
- When
- January 25, 2:00 AM HST to 6:00 AM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, Windward Oahu
- Property damage
- $800,000
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Hawaii, January 25, 1996
A mesoscale low was detected by the Kauai WSR-88D during the early evening of the 24th just north of Oahu. Velocity and Storm Relative Velocity products indicated cyclonic circulation from 15 to 20 thousand feet.
Where it happened
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.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $800,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
A mesoscale low was detected by the Kauai WSR-88D during the early evening of the 24th just north of Oahu. Velocity and Storm Relative Velocity products indicated cyclonic circulation from 15 to 20 thousand feet. After 0100 HST on the 25th, the low began a slow drift south over Oahu. Heavy rains occurred over windward Oahu as the low moved over the island. Rainfall totals (inches) included: 9.02 at Olomana, 9.00 at Kailua, 7.78 at Maunawili, 6.15 at Kaneohe, 4.48 at Punaluu, and 5.00 at Kahuku. 60 Waimanalo residents were evacuated as flooding and mudslides closed many windward Oahu roads. 15 homes were damaged on Kakaina and Mekia Streets in Waimanalo. A bridge over the Makawao Stream was washed out, isolating 30 residents near the top of Maunawili Valley. Mudslides closed the Pali Highway, a major traffic artery between windward Oahu and Honolulu. High water closed the Kapaa Quarry Road, Kalanianaole Highway in Waimanalo, and the Kahekili Highway.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, January 25, 1996
- Flood in New York, January 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, January 25, 1996
- Winter Storm in Colorado, January 25 to 26, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, January 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 25, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, January 25, 1996
- High Wind in New Mexico, January 25, 1996
- Flood in Montana, January 25 to 26, 1996
- High Wind in Nevada, January 25, 1996
- Flood in Kentucky, January 25 to 27, 1996
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 25, 1996
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 1996
Sources
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: 5544285.