Name: Flood in Hawaii, November 26 to 27, 2001
Start: 2001-11-26T11:20
End: 2001-11-27T04:00
Location: 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: 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.

Heavy rain, showers, and isolated thunderstorms produced stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways on the windward side of Oahu. Also, several commercial and residential structures sustained minor flood damage at their ground levels. No serious injuries 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 Nov 26, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 26, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 20 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST MON NOV 26 2001

SUMMARY...LOW PRESSURE FORMING WEST OF KAUAI WILL BRING SHOWERS AND
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS UP OVER THE STATE. INTERMITTENT HEAVY RAIN
IS FALLING ON THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE BIG ISLAND...AND MAY REACH
THE REST OF THE STATE LATE TODAY OR TONIGHT.

DISCUSSION...A KONA LOW HAS NOT YET FORMED IN THE TROUGH WEST OF
HAWAII. SOUTHERLY FLOW EAST OF THE TROUGH BOTH AT THE SURFACE AND
ALOFT IS HOWEVER BRINGING MOIST AIR UP OVER THE ISLANDS. THE SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING UP OVER PUNA AND KAU ARE DISORGANIZED AND
INTERMITTENT AND BECAUSE THEY ARE MOVING TO THE NORTH AT ABOUT 20
MPH POSE NO IMMEDIATE THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING. THE OTHER ISLANDS
HAVE YET TO SEE ANY SIGNIFICANT RAIN.

AN UPPER LEVEL LOW IS FORECAST TO FORM ABOUT 400 MILES WEST OF KAUAI
TUESDAY AT WHICH POINT THE HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COULD
ORGANIZE INTO FLOOD THREATENING NORTH TO SOUTH LINES. WHERE THE
LINES WILL FORM IS PROBLEMATIC AT PRESENT...SO AM UNABLE TO SAY
WHICH ISLAND WILL HAVE PROBLEMS.

A COLD FRONT WITH HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEST AND NORTHWEST
OF KAUAI IS MOVING SLOWLY TO THE EAST. IT MAY REACH KAUAI LATE TODAY
OR TONIGHT. CRAIG.

.PHFO.....WARNINGS.....NONE
.         WATCHES......FLOOD FOR KAUAI AND THE BIG ISLAND
.         ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT...HIGH SURF NORTHWEST SHORES
.         OUTLOOKS.....HYDROLOGIC FOR REMAINDER OF THE STATE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Honolulu

When: November 26, 11:20 AM HST to November 27, 4:00 AM HST
Where: Honolulu County, Kahuku
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, November 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: 5272314.