High Surf, Kauai
- When
- May 11, 9:00 AM HST to May 13, 6:00 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 in Hawaii, May 11 to 13, 2001
A trade wind swell produced surf of 4 to 6 feet along the east-facing shores of Kauai.
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.
A trade wind swell produced surf of 4 to 6 feet along the east-facing shores of Kauai.
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 May 11, 4:37 AM HST, 4 hours 23 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 11, 4:37 AM HST, 4 hours 23 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND ...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY...WAKE TIME... A SURFACE RIDGE ABOUT 300 NM NORTH OF YOUR ISLAND CONTINUES TO BE THE MAIN WEATHER FEATURE...BRINGING MODERATE TRADEWINDS. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS JUST A FEW LOW CLOUDS WITH POSSIBLE LIGHT SHOWERS. THUS EXPECT FAIR WEATHER EXCEPT FOR A FEW PASSING CLOUDS AND LIGHT SHOWERS. EAST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS. NO SIGNIFICANT SWELL IS EXPECTED.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Hail in Texas, May 11 to 12, 2001
- Flooding in Iowa, May 11 to 14, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 11, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, May 11, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Georgia, May 11 to 12, 2001
- Wildfire in California, May 11, 2001
- Hail in Texas, May 11, 2001
- Flood and Hail in Oklahoma, May 11, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 11, 2001
- Hail in Kansas, May 11, 2001
- Flooding in Missouri, May 11 to 13, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 11, 2001
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, May 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: 5244178.