High Surf in Hawaii, August 1 to 4, 2001

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, August 1 to 4, 2001
Start: 2001-08-01T00:00
End: 2001-08-04T17:00
Location: Hawaii

August 1 to 4, 2001 · NWS HFO · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A trade wind swell produced surf of 4 to 8 feet along the east-facing shores of all the islands except Lanai.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 trade wind swell produced surf of 4 to 8 feet along the east-facing shores of all the islands except Lanai.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Jul 31, 8:30 PM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 8:30 PM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST TUE JUL 31 2001

THE HAWAII ZONE FORECASTS WILL BE EXTENDED TO 7-DAY FORECASTS
EFFECTIVE 4 AM HST...AUGUST 1 2001. NO CHANGES TO COMMUNICATIONS
IDENTIFIERS ARE REQUIRED. FOR MORE DETAILS ON THE 7-DAY HAWAII ZONE
FORECASTS PLEASE SEE THE PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT POSTED ON THE
NWS HONOLULU WEB SITE/LOWER CASE/:
HTTP://WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/PR/HNL/INDEX.SHTML

SUMMARY...STRONG TRADE WINDS WILL BRING IN A FEW SHOWERS MAINLY
TONIGHT AND MORE ON THURSDAY.

DISCUSSION...THERE CONTINUES TO BE TWO MAIN AREAS OF RAINFALL
UPSTREAM. A NARROW LINE WITHIN 50 MILES UPWIND OF THE
ISLANDS...WHOSE INITIAL SHOWERS HAVE ALREADY AFFECTED KAUAI AND OAHU
THIS AFTERNOON...WILL AFFECT US TONIGHT AND DURING THE EARLY MORNING
HOURS. THE SECOND AREA IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DISSIPATED DALILA. ITS
PROJECTED PATH...THANKS TO THE STRONG HIGH DUE NORTH OF US...WILL
LIKELY BE CLOSER TO THE ISLANDS THAN ERICK. ALSO...A WEAKER BUT
CLOSER UPPER LOW THAN ASSOCIATED WITH ERICK MAY KEEP SHOWERS
ASSOCIATED WITH DALILA MORE INTACT AND PERHAPS SOMEWHAT MORE
ENHANCED. NO CHANGE OTHERWISE TO OUR STRONG HIGH/STRONG TRADE WINDS
SCENARIO. POWELL

.PHFO......WARNINGS.....NONE
.          WATCHES......NONE
.          ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT
.                    ...HIGH SURF EAST SHORES

*********************************************************************
FOR FIRE FIGHTING PURPOSES ONLY...THE FOLLOWING WINDS ARE BASED ON
THE MEDIUM RANGE FORECAST MODEL. ALLOWANCES ARE NOT MADE FOR DIURNAL
AND TERRAIN VARIATIONS BUT WINDS TEND TO BE STRONGER AND MORE
TURBULENT DURING THE DAY AND OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS. TO READ BELOW
07025 IS A WIND FROM 070 DEGREES OR FROM THE EASTNORTHEAST AT 25 KTS.

DATE   DAY  ALL ISLANDS

AUG 01 WED     08025
    02 THU     08025
    03 FRI     08020
    04 SAT     07020
    05 SUN     07020
    06 MON     08020
    07 TUE     08025
    08 WED     08025
    09 THU     08025
    10 FRI     08025

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Kauai

When: August 1, 12:00 AM HST to August 4, 5:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Maui

When: August 1, 12:00 AM HST to August 4, 5:00 PM HST
Where: Maui forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Molokai

When: August 1, 12:00 AM HST to August 4, 5:00 PM HST
Where: Molokai forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, North and East Hawaii

When: August 1, 12:00 AM HST to August 4, 5:00 PM HST
Where: North and East Hawaii forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Oahu

When: August 1, 12:00 AM HST to August 4, 5:00 PM HST
Where: Oahu forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, South Hawaii

When: August 1, 12:00 AM HST to August 4, 5:00 PM HST
Where: South Hawaii forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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

Every storm in Hawaii in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, August 2001

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: 5263427, 5263428, 5263429, 5263430, 5263431, 5263432.