High Surf in Hawaii, August 17 to 20, 2001

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, August 17 to 20, 2001
Start: 2001-08-17T11:00
End: 2001-08-20T17:00
Location: Hawaii

August 17 to 20, 2001 · NWS HFO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A trade wind swell generated surf of 4 to 8 feet along the east- and southeast-facing shores of the island of Hawaii.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 generated surf of 4 to 8 feet along the east- and southeast-facing shores of the island of Hawaii.

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 Aug 17, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 17, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST FRI AUG 17 2001

SUMMARY...TRADE WINDS CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN BUT WILL BE MOSTLY DRY.

DISCUSSION...YESTERDAYS TROPICAL AIR MASS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING..
AND GENERALLY DRIER AIR HAS MOVED IN FROM THE EAST. ALTHO STABLE
MIDLEVEL RIDGING IS SHIFTING NORTHWARD AND HAS ALLOWED UPSTREAM
CLOUDINESS TO TURN SOMEWHAT OPEN CELLULAR THE RIDGES PROXIMITY
HAS STILL GENERATED A STRONG TEMPERATURE INVERSION AT A LOW 3000
FEET OVER HILO SUPPORTING THEIR NEARLY DRY OVERNIGHT...STATEWIDE
SHOWERS SHOULD BE ISOLATED. MEANWHILE STRENGTHENING HIGH PRESSURE TO
THE NORTH AND THE TROPICAL AIRS DEPARTURE WILL KEEP TRADE WINDS
GUSTY..ITS PEAK LIKELY DURING THE WEEK END.  MATSUDA

.PHFO......WARNINGS.....NONE
.          WATCHES......NONE
.          ADVISORIES...NONE

********************************************************************
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
08020 IS A WIND FROM 080 DEGREES OR FROM THE EAST AT 20 KTS.

DATE   DAY  ALL ISLANDS

AUG 17 FRI     08020
    18 SAT     08025
    19 SUN     08025
    20 MON     08025
    21 TUE     08020
    22 WED     08020
    23 THU     07020
    24 FRI     07015
    25 SAT     07015
    26 SUN     07015

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, North and East Hawaii

When: August 17, 11:00 AM HST to August 20, 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, South Hawaii

When: August 17, 11:00 AM HST to August 20, 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: 5263520, 5263521.