High Surf, Kauai Windward
- When
- May 26, 10:00 AM HST to May 27, 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai Windward forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
High Surf in Hawaii, May 26 to 27, 1996
A fall storm in the southern hemisphere, to the south of Tahiti, generated large ocean swell around May 19th. Surf with sets to 6 feet built along the south shores of the Hawaiian Islands during the late morning hours of the 26th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 3
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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 fall storm in the southern hemisphere, to the south of Tahiti, generated large ocean swell around May 19th. Surf with sets to 6 feet built along the south shores of the Hawaiian Islands during the late morning hours of the 26th. Lifeguards conducted 100 water rescues by waverunner, including 33 at Waikiki. Three surfers were injured. A rouge wave estimated at 15 to 20 feet capsized a boat with a failed engine in Keehi Lagoon. The boat broke up on a nearby reef. One man drowned and three others were rescued.
Event by event
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Surf, Kauai Windward | 1996-05-26 | 79 | Male | Boat | Direct |
What these are
- High Surf
- Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes in Kansas, May 26, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 26, 1996
- Tornadoes in Oklahoma, May 26, 1996
- Tornadoes in Kansas, May 26, 1996
- Tornado in Kansas, May 26, 1996
- Flooding in Iowa, May 26 to 31, 1996
- Tornadoes in Kansas, May 26, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Kansas, May 26, 1996
- Tornado in Kansas, May 26, 1996
- Tornado in Kansas, May 26, 1996
- Hail in Oklahoma, May 26, 1996
- Hail in Kansas, May 26, 1996
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, May 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: 5573364.