High Surf, Kauai
- When
- May 19, 8:00 AM HST to May 20, 6:00 AM 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 19 to 20, 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 19, 4:48 AM HST, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 19, 4:48 AM HST, 3 hours 12 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND ...TODAY THROUGH MONDAY...WAKE TIME... A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL EXTEND ACROSS WAKE ISLAND DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. WINDS SHOULD GENERALLY BE LIGHT AND VARIABLE TODAY... BECOME NORTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 MILES PER HOUR TONIGHT...AND THEN EAST AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES PER HOUR MONDAY MORNING. WEATHER CONDITIONS SHOULD BE PLEASANT FOR THE MOST PART WITH FEW CLOUDS PRESENT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE RIDGE. 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
- Lightning Strikes in Georgia, May 19, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Virginia, May 19 to 20, 2001
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Oklahoma, May 19, 2001
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Texas, May 19, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 19 to 22, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 19, 2001
- High Wind in Montana, May 19, 2001
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in Texas, May 19, 2001
- Flash Flood in Alabama, May 19 to 20, 2001
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Texas, May 19, 2001
- High Wind in Washington, May 19, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, May 19 to 20, 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: 5244187.