Flash Flood, Hawaii
- When
- January 31, 3:45 PM HST to 8:30 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, Hilo
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Hawaii, January 31, 1999
30 homes sustained minor flooding, while high water in a stream along East Palai Street in Hilo required some evacuations. The Hilo Municipal Golf Course was closed, and reports of widespread street flooding in Hilo and runoffs in Waiakea Uka were observed during this event.
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
- 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.
30 homes sustained minor flooding, while high water in a stream along East Palai Street in Hilo required some evacuations. The Hilo Municipal Golf Course was closed, and reports of widespread street flooding in Hilo and runoffs in Waiakea Uka were observed during this event. Several roads, including East Kawailani Street, were closed due to flooding and runoffs. Lightning caused power outages of up to an hour and affected about 14,000 homes in Hilo, Puna, and Kona. Hilo received a 24-hour total of 5.69 inches for this event. Other rainfall totals for this event on Hawaii are as follow: Waiakea Uka 5.14 in. Piihonua 4.80 in. Mountain View 5.36 in. Glenwood 4.60 in. Pahoa 3.87 in.
The radar
The South Shore radar (PHWA), 57 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:36 UTC.
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
- Flood in Louisiana, January 31, 1999
- Flood in Louisiana, January 31, 1999
- Flooding in Texas, January 31, 1999
- High Wind in Tennessee, January 31, 1999
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, January 31, 1999
- Flooding in Louisiana, January 31, 1999
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, January 31, 1999
- High Wind in Alabama, January 31, 1999
- Sleet in North Carolina, January 31, 1999
- Sleet in South Carolina, January 31, 1999
- Flooding in Missouri, January 31, 1999
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, January 31, 1999
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 1999
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5685469.