High Surf, Kauai
- When
- September 27, 8:00 AM HST to 6:00 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 27, 2001
A trade wind swell generated surf of 4 to 6 feet along the east- and southeast-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 generated surf of 4 to 6 feet along the east- and southeast-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 27, 4:16 AM HST, 3 hours 44 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 27, 4:16 AM HST, 3 hours 44 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND ...TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY... WAKE ISLAND CAN EXPECT PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH SOME HIT-MISS TYPE SHOWERS THROUGH SATURDAY. WINDS WILL REMAIN TRADES AT 10 TO 15 KT. NO SIGNIFICANT SWELL IS ANTICIPATED.
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
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: 5266130.