Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, February 25, 2002
Start: 2002-02-25T11:45
End: 2002-02-25T16:15
Location: Hawaii

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

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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 and thunderstorms produced ponding of roadways, and stream and drainage ditch flooding in the North and South Kona 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 Feb 25, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 45 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST MON FEB 25 2002

SUMMARY...EXPECT TRADE WINDS IN THE 15 TO 30 MPH RANGE ACROSS THE
STATE THROUGH TUESDAY...THANKS TO HIGH PRESSURE TO OUR NORTH.
SLIGHTLY WEAKER TRADES ARE EXPECTED AFTERWARDS AS THE PRESSURE
GRADIENT RELAXES. LINGERING INSTABILITY...DUE TO COLD AIR
ALOFT...WILL ENHANCE SHOWERS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE TRADES. HEAVY
SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THE BIG ISLAND TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.
HOWEVER...A MOISTURE DECREASE FROM THIS TIME YESTERDAY WILL PREVENT
FLOODING RAINS FROM DEVELOPING.

DISCUSSION...THE UPPER TROUGH IS DEVELOPING OVER AND NORTHEAST OF
THE STATE AS EXPECTED...BUT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE ACROSS THE STATE HAS
DECREASED FROM 24 HOURS AGO. THE ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO
DESTABILIZE...SHOWN BY K-INDICES IN THE LOW 30S AND LIFTED INDEX
VALUES OF -4.3 AND -6.2 AT HILO AND LIHUE...RESPECTIVELY. COOLING
CONTINUES ABOVE 800 MB WITH SLIGHT WARMING SEEN AT LOWER LEVELS AT
LIHUE. INITIAL UPLIFT AT LOW LEVELS IS PROVIDED BY STRONG TRADES
ENCOUNTERING WINDWARD MOUNTAIN RANGES. GIVEN ENOUGH MOISTURE...WE
WOULD HAVE A BIG RAINFALL EVENT ON OUR HANDS. FORTUNATELY OR
UNFORTUNATELY...DEPENDING ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW...LOTS OF THE
MOISTURE FUELING THE HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS YESTERDAY HAS
MOVED SOUTHWEST OF THE STATE. SO...THE END RESULT WILL BE BOUTS OF
ENHANCED TRADE WIND SHOWERS THROUGH THE WEEK...WITH A FEW HEAVY
SHOWERS OVER THE BIG ISLAND THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...BUT NO FLOODING
RAINS ARE EXPECTED.

MODELS INDICATE THAT THE UPPER TROUGH WILL STICK AROUND FOR SEVERAL
DAYS THEN SLIP SLOWLY OFF TO THE EAST. AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL
REPLACE THE TROUGH...WARMING UP MID AND UPPER LEVELS AND STABILIZING
THE ATMOSPHERE BY FRIDAY. CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL DECREASE THEN AND
AFTERWARDS.

AT LOWER LEVELS...THE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL LINGER NORTH OF
HERE...KEEPING THE TRADES IN THE 15 TO 30 MPH RANGE THROUGH TUESDAY
NIGHT...THEN IN THE 10 TO 25 MPH RANGE AFTERWARDS.

POWELL

.HFO.....WARNINGS.....NONE
.        WATCHES......NONE
.        ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT DUE TO STRONG AND GUSTY TRADES

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Hawaii

When: February 25, 11:45 AM HST to 4:15 PM HST
Where: Hawaii County, Kailua Kona
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, February 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: 5281093.