High Surf in Hawaii, July 2, 2001

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, July 2, 2001
Start: 2001-07-02T12:00
End: 2001-07-02T18:00
Location: Hawaii

July 2, 2001 · NWS HFO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A trade wind swell caused surf of 4 to 6 feet along the east-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 caused surf of 4 to 6 feet along the east-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 Jul 2, 9:26 AM HST, 2 hours 34 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 9:26 AM HST, 2 hours 34 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST MON JUL 2 2001

SUMMARY...LIGHT WINDS COMBINED WITH SOME INSTABILITY SHOULD RESULT
IN LIMITED CONVECTIVE SHOWERS MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON.  MOST AREAS WILL
BE DRY.  LIGHT WINDS CONTINUING THROUGH MID WEEK WITH SOME HIGH
CLOUDS NEAR THE BIG ISLAND.

DISCUSSION...THE CIRRUS OVER KAUAI...OAHU AND MOLOKAI YESTERDAY HAS
SHIFTED EASTWARD OVER LANAI...MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND TODAY.  AN
UPPER TROUGH NEAR THE DATELINE MAY CONTINUE TO BRING IN SPORADIC
SPURTS OF CIRRUS MAINLY OVER THE BIG ISLAND OVER THE NEXT DAY OR
SO.  ATMOSPHERE REMAINS A SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE ACROSS THE STATE TODAY
BUT IS EXPECTED TO STABILIZE BEGINNING TONIGHT.  PRESSURES HAVE
RISEN SLIGHTLY AND HUMIDITIES HAVE ACTUALLY LOWERED SINCE 24 HOURS
AGO.  BUT WITH LIGHT WINDS...WE COULD SEE SOME CONVECTIVE CLOUDINESS
OVER THE ISLANDS AS THE TERRAIN HEATS UP AND SEA BREEZES MOVE
INLAND.  OUR LIGHT WIND AND WARM CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY PERSIST
UNTIL THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IMMEDIATELY TO OUR NORTH AND
WEST WEAKENS AND PERMITS OUR CUSTOMARY TRADE WIND SUSTAINING
RIDGE TO REBUILD NORTH OF THE ISLANDS..SOMETIME DURING THE LATTER
PART OF THIS WEEK. FUJII

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

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: July 2, 12:00 PM HST to 6:00 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: July 2, 12:00 PM HST to 6:00 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, July 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: 5259802, 5259803.