Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, February 26, 2002
Start: 2002-02-26T01:00
End: 2002-02-26T10:15
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 caused stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways in the Hilo, Puna, and Kau districts on the Big Island of Hawaii. Several private schools were closed, and minor landslides closed a few roads for a time. No serious property damage or injuries were reported, however.

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, 8:30 PM HST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 25, 8:30 PM HST, 4 hours 30 minutes before

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

SUMMARY...BRISK TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER DAY...THEN
DROP OFF THEREAFTER. SHOWERS WILL BE BRIEF...FAVORING THE MAUI AND
THE BIG ISLAND. UNSTABLE CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE STATE...
RESULTING IN HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAINLY OVER AND AROUND
THE BIG ISLAND.

DISCUSSION...NO CHANGE IN THE FORECAST. A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE NORTH
OF HAWAII WILL KEEP THE TRADES AT A BRISK 15 TO 30 MPH THROUGH
TUESDAY. THE RIDGE WILL WEAKEN WEDNESDAY RESULTING IN A DROP IN WIND
SPEED. AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT...PRESENTLY WEST OF THE DATELINE...
WILL ERODE THE WEST END OF THE RIDGE LATER THIS WEEK RESULTING IN
EVEN LIGHTER WINDS OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST.

COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE
OVER THE STATE. THE NE-SW UPPER LEVEL TROUGH CAUSING THE COLD AIR IS
SITUATED SUCH THAT THE BIG ISLAND WILL BE THE FAVORED PLACE FOR
HEAVY RAIN AND PERHAPS THUNDER. THE MORE INTENSE DIURNAL HEATING
THAT OCCURS OVER THE BIG ISLAND WILL AIDE AND ABET THE CONVECTION
PROCESS. THE TROUGH IS SCHEDULED TO MOVE OFF TO THE EAST WEDNESDAY
ALLOWING AN UPPER RIDGE TO THE WEST TO MOVE OVERHEAD BY FRIDAY.
CRAIG.

.HFO.....WARNINGS.....NONE
                      GALE ALL CHANNELS
.        WATCHES......NONE
.        ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT COASTAL WATERS

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 26, 1:00 AM HST to 10:15 AM HST
Where: Hawaii County, Laupahoehoe
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: 5281094.