Name: Flash Flood in Hawaii, July 26, 2002
Start: 2002-07-26T13:00
End: 2002-07-26T16:00
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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

Localized heavy rain embedded within a band of trade showers caused a normally shallow ford along the Waihee Stream in West Maui to rise five feet within a short amount of time. Four hikers trapped by the rising waters were rescued by the Maui Fire Department's Air One helicopter three miles up the stream.

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 Jul 26, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 26, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST FRI JUL 26 2002

SUMMARY...PLEASANT TRADE WINDS WEATHER PREVAILS OVER THE ISLANDS.
A SMALL SHOWER AREA TRAVELLING IN THE TRADES IS MOVING IN ON
WINDWARD BIG ISLAND AND MAUI THIS MORNING. THESE SHOWERS WILL
AFFECT OAHU AND KAUAI THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

DISCUSSION...A SMALL BATCH OF TRADE SHOWERS IS LOCATED OFF THE
WINDWARD COASTS OF BIG ISLAND AND MAUI MOVING TOWARD OAHU TO ARRIVE
THERE AROUND NOON AND AT KAUAI LATER THIS AFTERNOON. THE DURATION
OF THESE SHOWERS AT ANY ONE POINT WILL BE LESS THAN 12 HOURS. EAST
OF THIS SHOWER AREA THERE IS AN AREA OF MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND
STABLE CLOUDS UNTIL WE REACH 145W LONGITUDE. AT THIS LOCATION WE
FIND THE LEADING EDGE OF A LARGE CYCLONICALLY CURVED SHOWER REGION
CENTERED NEAR 21N 138W. THIS LARGE SHOWER REGION IS THE REMNANT
CIRCULATION OF DOUGLAS. ON ITS PRESENT COURSE THE CENTER OF THIS
SHOWER AREA WILL PASS JUST NORTH OF THE CHAIN ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY.
WITH THE CENTER PASSING BY TO THE NORTH THE TRADE WINDS WILL LIKELY
DIMINISH AND THE AIR MASS WILL BE SOMEWHAT HUMID WITH DEWPOINTS IN
THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 70S. RAINFALL MAY NOT AMOUNT TO MUCH THOUGH THE
SOLAR HEATING OF THE ISLANDS MAY FORCE AN ISOLATED HEAVY SHOWER OR
TWO. BEHIND DOUGLAS MORE MOSTLY FINE WEATHER IS LOCATED WHILE WE
WAIT FOR THE REMNANTS OF ELIDA.  ROSENDAL

.HFO...WARNINGS...WATCHES...ADVISORIES...NONE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Maui

When: July 26, 1:00 PM HST to 4:00 PM HST
Where: Maui County, 4 mi NW of Wailuku
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, July 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: 5304195.