Waterspout, Hawaii
- When
- May 5, 3:15 PM HST to 4:00 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, 12 mi SE of Hilo
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Waterspout in Hawaii, May 5, 2001
A couple of waterspouts were observed offshore from Hilo. No injuries or property damage were reported, however.
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 couple of waterspouts were observed offshore from Hilo. No injuries or property damage were reported, however.
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 5, 9:23 AM HST, 5 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 5, 9:23 AM HST, 5 hours 52 minutes before
AFDHI HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 10 AM HST SAT MAY 5 2001 SUMMARY...AN AREA OF LOW CLOUDS SKIRTING WINDWARD SHORES OF THE STATE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE ISLANDS WITHIN THE TRADES TODAY...PROVIDING PERIODS OF CLOUDS AND SHOWERS OVER WINDWARD AREAS AND LEAVING LEEWARD AREAS PARTLY CLOUDY AND RELATIVELY DRY. DISCUSSION...TRADE SHOWERS...ENHANCED BY A WEAK TROUGH ALOFT...HAVE CONCENTRATED INTO AN AREA OVER AND JUST UPWIND OF THE ISLANDS. THIS CLOUD AND SHOWER AREA CORRESPONDS WELL TO A HIGH THETA-E AREA WHICH CAN BE TRACKED ON MODELS. THETA-E IS A PARAMETER USED BY METEOROLOGISTS TO IDENTIFY AND TRACK LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AREAS WITHIN AN AIR MASS...AMONG OTHER THINGS. THE HIGHER THE THETA-E THE MORE MOISTURE IS PRESENT. EXPECT THE HIGH THETA-E AREA...AND THEREFORE THE SHOWERS...TO MOVE ACROSS THE ISLANDS THIS AFTERNOON AND LEAVING RELATIVELY DRY CONDITIONS BEHIND ACROSS THE ISLANDS TONIGHT. TRADES SHOULD STAY IN THE 10 TO 20 MPH RANGE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...THEN STRENGTHEN INTO THE 10 TO 25 MPH RANGE TUESDAY IN RESPONSE TO STRENGTHENING HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. POWELL .PHFO..w...WARNINGS.....NONE . WATCHES......NONE . ADVISORIES...NONE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Waterspout
- A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding in Texas, May 5, 2001
- Flash Flooding in Texas, May 5, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, May 5, 2001
- Wildfire in Montana, May 5 to 9, 2001
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, May 5 to 6, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, May 5, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Texas, May 5, 2001
- Hail in Texas, May 5, 2001
- Hail in Kansas, May 5, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 5, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, May 5, 2001
- Tornado and Hail in Texas, May 5, 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: 5244176.