High Wind, Maui
- When
- April 1, 7:00 PM HST to April 2, 10:00 AM HST
- Where
- Maui forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- GOVT OFFICIAL
- Coordinates
- 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in Hawaii, April 1 to 2, 2002
A jet stream just south of Maui produced west to southwest winds estimated at 50 to 60 mph, with gusts to 65 mph, near the summit of Haleakala on the Valley Isle. Two women and a young child were caught by surprise by the strong winds while spending time at a wilderness area near Kapalaoa cabin at about the 10 thousand-foot level.
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
- 1
- 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 jet stream just south of Maui produced west to southwest winds estimated at 50 to 60 mph, with gusts to 65 mph, near the summit of Haleakala on the Valley Isle. Two women and a young child were caught by surprise by the strong winds while spending time at a wilderness area near Kapalaoa cabin at about the 10 thousand-foot level. One of the women, with severe hypothermia, was rescued by park rangers on the evening of the 1st; while the other woman and her daughter were able to hike out of the area the next morning, on the 2nd, under their own power. There were no other reports of serious injuries or property damage.
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 Apr 1, 4:00 PM HST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 1, 4:00 PM HST, 3 hours before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 4 PM HST MON APR 1 2002 SUMMARY...THE THREAT OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS PERSISTS FOR THE BIG ISLAND THROUGH THIS EVENING. BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON...A FAST MOVING UPPER AIR TROUGH WILL MOVE FAR ENOUGH EAST OF THE ISLANDS TO KEEP THUNDERSTORMS FROM DEVELOPING OVER THE BIG ISLAND. THE SMALLER ISLANDS WILL SEE MOSTLY CLEAR TO CLEAR SKIES...WITH LIGHT WINDS THROUGH TOMORROW. LIGHT TO MODERATE TRADES WILL RETURN WEDNESDAY AS A RIDGE NOW OVER THE STATE MOVES NORTHWARD. DISCUSSION...RELATIVELY STABLE AND DRY CONDITIONS OVER KAUAI CONTRAST WITH UNSTABLE AND POTENTIALLY WET CONDITIONS OVER THE BIG ISLAND LATE THIS AFTERNOON. A SHEARLINE HAS STALLED OVER THE BIG ISLAND. THE ADDITIONAL INGREDIENT OF A STRONG SUBTROPICAL JETSTREAM JUST SOUTH OF THE STATE...COMBINED WITH AN UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE TROUGH JUST NORTH OF THE STATE...BRIEFLY TRIGGERED DEVELOPMENT OF A GAPPY LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS NORTHEAST THROUGH JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE BIG ISLAND THIS MORNING. HOWEVER...THIS ACTIVITY DECREASED NOT LONG AFTER SUNRISE. WITH AN AFTERNOON HILO K-INDEX OF 35 AND A LIFTED INDEX OF MINUS 2.0...SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN POSSIBLE FOR THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE AVN MODEL HAS TONED DOWN AN EARLIER AREA OF HEAVY RAINFALL OVER WINDWARD BIG ISLAND AREAS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...PROBABLY DUE TO THE RAPID NORTHEASTWARD MOVEMENT OF THE UPPER TROUGH AWAY FROM THE STATE. THE WESTERN END OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLAND CHAIN IS STABLE...DRY AND ALMOST FREE OF LOW CLOUDS OVER OPEN WATER. MIDDLE AND HIGH CLOUDS REMAIN OVER THE ISLANDS OF MAUI COUNTY...JOINING THE LOW CLOUDS TO PRODUCE MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES THERE. BY TOMORROW...THE SHEARLINE NEAR THE BIG ISLAND WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN AS THE UPPER TROUGH NORTH OF THE STATE CONTINUES TO LIFT OUT TO THE NORTH AND EAST...IMPROVING CONDITIONS FOR THE BIG ISLAND AND CLEARING THE SKIES OVER MAUI COUNTY. THE RIDGE EXTENDING SOUTHWESTWARD OVER THE STATE WILL LIFT A BIT TO THE NORTH OVER THE NEXT 48 HOURS...ALLOWING WEAK TRADES TO RETURN WEDNESDAY. THE REMAINDER OF THE STATE WILL CONTINUE GENERALLY PLEASANT AND DRY THROUGH THE WEEK...WITH RATHER CHILLY NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES THROUGH MIDWEEK. ANOTHER WEAK FRONT OR SHEARLINE IS FORECAST FOR NEXT WEEKEND. POWELL .HFO...WARNINGS.....HIGH WIND BIG ISLAND SUMMITS . WATCHES......NONE . ADVISORIES...HIGH SURF N AND NW SHORES
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Avalanche in Alaska, April 1, 2002
- Drought in Georgia, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Colorado, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in New Mexico, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in New Jersey, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Rip Current in Guam, April 1, 2002
- Drought in Georgia, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in New York, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Pennsylvania, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in South Carolina, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Connecticut, April 1 to 30, 2002
- Drought in Texas, April 1 to 30, 2002
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, April 2002
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: 5290698.