Flash Flood, Honolulu
- When
- January 29, 5:50 AM HST to 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, Southwest Portion
- Reported by
- UNKNOWN
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Hawaii, January 29, 2002
On Oahu, heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms caused flooding along the Manoa Stream, which then spilled into a nearby shopping center. Five residents in Waipahu were left homeless after flood waters severely damaged their residence.
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.
On Oahu, heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms caused flooding along the Manoa Stream, which then spilled into a nearby shopping center. Five residents in Waipahu were left homeless after flood waters severely damaged their residence. No damage estimates were available for these events, 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 Jan 29, 5:00 AM HST, 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 5:00 AM HST, 50 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW ONLY SMALL CUMULUS AND STRATOCUMULUS ELEMENTS UPSTREAM. THE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE NOT FAR TO THE NORTH WILL KEEP WAKE ISLAND RAIN-FREE WITH LOTS OF SUNSHINE TODAY AND MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES TONIGHT. 15 KNOT TRADE WINDS SHOULD CONTINUE. NO SIGNFICANT SWELL IS EXPECTED.
The radar
The Molokai radar (PHMO), 88 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:49 UTC.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in Kansas, January 29 to 31, 2002
- Winter Storm in Kansas, January 29 to 31, 2002
- Flash Flood in Hawaii, January 29, 2002
- Ice Storm in Oklahoma, January 29 to 30, 2002
- Dense Fog in Georgia, January 29, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, January 29 to 31, 2002
- Ice Storm in Illinois, January 29 to 30, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 29 to 31, 2002
- Ice Storm in Missouri, January 29 to 30, 2002
- Strong Wind in Hawaii, January 29 to 30, 2002
- Ice Storm in Kansas, January 29 to 31, 2002
- Ice Storm in Texas, January 29 to 30, 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: 5278604.