High Surf, Kauai
- When
- September 21, 8:00 AM HST to 5:00 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, September 21, 2001
A trade wind swell caused 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 caused 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 Sep 21, 4:41 AM HST, 3 hours 19 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 21, 4:41 AM HST, 3 hours 19 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND AT 1232 UTC...TROPICAL STORM FRANCISCO WAS CENTERED ABOUT 860 MILES WEST OF WAKE NEAR 19.4N 151.4E. FRANCISCO IS INTENSIFYING BUT MOVING AWAY TO THE NORTHWEST. SEE JTWC WARNINGS FOR DETAILS. A TROUGH ALOFT IS CREATING UNSTABLE CONDITIONS AROUND WAKE. CLOUDS ARE SCATTERED IN YOUR AREA BUT SOME OF THESE CLOUDS ARE ARE TOWERING CUMULUS AND CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS THAT COULD PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY SHOWERS OR EVEN THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS WILL BLOW OUT OF THE EAST AT 10 TO 15 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 and Damaging Winds in Texas, September 21, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, September 21, 2001
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Michigan, September 21, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, September 21, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, September 21, 2001
- Hail in Texas, September 21, 2001
- Hail in Michigan, September 21, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Texas, September 21, 2001
- High Wind in Alaska, September 21 to 22, 2001
- Lightning Strike in Connecticut, September 21, 2001
- Flash Flood in Puerto Rico, September 21, 2001
- Funnel Cloud in Wisconsin, September 21, 2001
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, September 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: 5266128.