Heavy Rain, Hawaii
- When
- December 10, 5:00 PM HST to December 11, 11:00 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, Honokaa
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, December 10 to 11, 2002
Heavy showers caused minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways along the Hamakua coast and in the Hilo and Puna districts on the Big Island of Hawaii. No serious injuries or property damage were reported.
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.
Heavy showers caused minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways along the Hamakua coast and in the Hilo and Puna districts on the Big Island of Hawaii. No serious injuries or 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 Dec 10, 4:05 PM HST, 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 10, 4:05 PM HST, 55 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... A SURFACE TROUGH REMAINS NORTH AND EAST OF YOUR ISLANDS THIS AFTERNOON...WITH SOUTHEAST FLOW OVER YOUR ISLANDS. THERE IS A DISTURBANCE DEVELOPED EAST OF YOUR AREA NEAR 13S 165W. FORECAST CHARTS HINT THIS LOW EVENTUALLY MAY MOVE WEST THROUGH YOUR AREA. IT WILL BE IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD IF THIS HAPPEN. IN THE MEAN TIME... AREA OF LOW CLOUDS EMBEDDED IN THE TRADE FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO BRING PASSING SHOWERS TO YOUR ISLANDS. LOOK FOR PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH SOUTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS. A LONG PERIOD NORTH SWELL WITH HEIGHT OF 3 TO 5 FEET WILL CONTINUE AS WELL AS A SHORT PERIOD SOUTHEAST SWELL WITH HEIGHTS OF 3 TO 5 FEET. OUTLOOK FOR FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... AS MENTIONED EARLIER...FORECAST CHARTS BRING THIS LOW ACROSS YOUR REGION WESTWARD REACHING YOUR ISLANDS SATURDAY. IF THE FORECAST CHARTS ARE CORRECT...SHOULD SEE WORSENING WEATHER SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WITH MORE SHOWERS...THUNDERSTORMS AND VARIABLE WINDS. OTHERWISE LOOK FOR SOUTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS TO PREVAIL WITH PASSING CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. NARRATIVE DISCUSSION FOR TUVALU TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...TUVALU TIME... SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS MOST OF THE CONVECTION HAVE SHIFTED NORTH OF YOUR ISLANDS. THERE IS AN AREA OF CONVECTION OVER THE EXTREME NORTHERN PORTION OF YOUR ISLAND CHAIN...OTHERWISE SCATTERED LOW AND HIGH CLOUDS COVERING YOUR DISTRICT. A SURFACE TROUGH WILL PERSIST ACROSS 08S WITH CONVECTION DEVELOPING MAINLY NORTH OF THIS TROUGH. LOOK FOR ISOLATED CONVECTION TO CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE EXTREME PORTION OF YOUR ISLAND CHAIN WHILE REST OF THE AREA SHOULD SEE PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS. WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS TO 10 KNOT NORTH OF TROUGH AND SOUTHEAST WINDS TO 10 KNOTS SOUTH OF THE TROUGH PREVAIL.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Dense Fog in California, December 10 to 12, 2002
- Ice Storm in Pennsylvania, December 10 to 11, 2002
- High Wind in Oregon, December 10 to 11, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, December 10, 2002
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, December 10, 2002
- High Wind in Oregon, December 10, 2002
- High Wind in Alaska, December 10, 2002
- Winter Storm in Alaska, December 10 to 11, 2002
- Winter Storm in Hawaii, December 10 to 11, 2002
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, December 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: 5325305.