High Surf, Kauai
- When
- January 15, 8:00 AM HST to January 16, 4:00 AM 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, January 15 to 16, 2002
A quick-moving low northwest of Hawaii generated surf of 10 to 15 feet along the west- and northwest-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 quick-moving low northwest of Hawaii generated surf of 10 to 15 feet along the west- and northwest-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 Jan 15, 4:45 AM HST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 15, 4:45 AM HST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND ...HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR WESTERN CLOCKWISE THROUGH NORTHEASTERN EXPOSURES... SATELLITE PICTURES SHOWED A BAND OF OVERCAST LAYERED CLOUDS MOVING SOUTHEAST AWAY FROM WAKE ISLAND...WHICH WAS NOW LOCATED SQUARELY IN A REGION OF SCATTERED TO LOCALLY BROKEN STRATOCUMULUS CLOUDS THAT CONTINUED TO ADVANCE FROM THE NORTH. SKIES WILL REMAIN PARTLY CLOUDY THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH BRIEF LIGHT SHOWERS POSSIBLE. THE WIND WILL CONTINUE TO BLOW AT 15 TO 25 KNOTS...GRADUALLY TURNING FROM NORTH TO NORTHEAST. A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR WESTERN CLOCKWISE THROUGH NORTHEASTERN EXPOSURES OF WAKE ISLAND. FOR MORE DETAILS SEE FZPQ70 PGUM.
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
- Heavy Snow in Utah, January 15, 2002
- Winter Storm in Maine, January 15 to 16, 2002
- Winter Weather in Vermont, January 15 to 16, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Maine, January 15 to 16, 2002
- Extreme Cold in California, January 15 to 20, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 15 to 16, 2002
- Winter Storm in Alaska, January 15, 2002
- High Wind in Alaska, January 15, 2002
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 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: 5278497.