Hawaii, 2001

Flood in Hawaii, November 7, 2001

November 7, 2001 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy showers produced minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways in the South Hilo and Puna districts on the island of Hawaii. No injuries or serious property damage were reported.

Where it happened

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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 showers produced minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways in the South Hilo and Puna districts on the island of Hawaii. No injuries or serious property damage were reported.

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 7, 4:00 PM HST, 3 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 7, 4:00 PM HST, 3 hours 48 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
4 PM HST WED NOV 7 2001

SUMMARY...HIGH CLOUDS SHOULD MAKE FOR ANOTHER CLOUDY DAY THURSDAY.
SUNNIER SKIES ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY...HOWEVER. SHOWERS WILL FAVOR
KAUAI...OAHU...MOLOKAI AND THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND
MAINLY TONIGHT. THE SHOWERS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A DISTURBANCE
PASSING SOUTH OF THE ISLANDS.

DISCUSSION...WITH ALL THE CIRRUS IN THE AREA...IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO
TELL WHERE THE VORTEX THAT WAS ONCE HURRICANE OCTAVE IS LOCATED.
EXTRAPOLATION...HOWEVER WOULD PUT IT A COUPLE OF HUNDRED MILES SOUTH
OF MOLOKAI AT 4 PM.

RADAR SHOWS A DECREASE IN SHOWERS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF HOURS EXCEPT
FOR PUNA AND HILO. AGAIN...ITS IMPOSSIBLE WITH ALL THE CIRRUS TO
TELL IF THERE ARE MORE SHOWER-BEARING CLOUDS OUT TO THE EAST. I
SUSPECT THAT THERE ARE...AND HAVE THEREFORE NOT BACKED OFF ON THE
RAIN FOR TONIGHT. SATELLITE DOES SHOW ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS FORMING
AND DISSIPATING NORTHEAST OF MAUI. THEY...FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON...
APPEAR TO NOT BE MOVING WITH THE TRADES...BUT THEY CERTAINLY BEAR
WATCHING TONIGHT.

THE MODERATE TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE...WHAT WITH AN UNCHANGING
RIDGE TO THE NORTH AND AN UNCHANGING PRESSURE GRADIENT OVERHEAD.
PRESSURE FALLS SOUTH OF THE STATE ASSOCIATED WITH THE VORTEX ARE NOT
EXPECTED TO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE THE TRADE WINDS.

SURF...A NORTHWEST SWELL WILL ARRIVE THURSDAY THAT MAY REQUIRE A
HIGH SURF ADVISORY. A STORM PRESENTLY EAST OF KAMCHATKA WILL SEND
ANOTHER NORTHWEST SWELL TO THE ISLANDS SUNDAY. THIS SURF WILL BE
SMALLER SINCE WINDS IN THE STORM ARE WEAKER AND THE SEAS IN THE
FETCH AREA ARE PARTIALLY BLOCKED BY THE ALEUTIANS. CRAIG.

.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

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Hawaii

When
November 7, 7:48 PM HST to 11:00 PM HST
Where
Hawaii County, Hilo
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
19.602, -155.523 (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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5272298.