Heavy Rain, Honolulu
- When
- March 13, 12:45 PM HST to 4:10 PM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, Wahiawa
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 13, 2002
Heavy showers caused ponding of roadways and minor stream and drainage ditch flooding in central and southwest parts of Oahu. Small hail was also reported by a member of the public near Wahiawa.
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.
Heavy showers caused ponding of roadways and minor stream and drainage ditch flooding in central and southwest parts of Oahu. Small hail was also reported by a member of the public near Wahiawa. There were no reports of significant property damage or injuries, 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 Mar 13, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 45 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 10 AM HST WED MAR 13 2002 SUMMARY...ALTHOUGH LOW CLOUDS ARE SCARCE THIS MORNING...EXPECT PERIODS OF CLOUDS AND SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL KEEP OUR ATMOSPHERE UNSTABLE ENOUGH FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LIGHT WINDS WILL BECOME TRADES THURSDAY...BRINGING GENERALLY DRIER AND MORE STABLE CONDITIONS TO THE ALOHA STATE. WET WEATHER...ASSOCIATED WITH AN APPROACHING SHEARLINE...IS EXPECTED AGAIN SUNDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. DISCUSSION...LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS ARE THE RESULT OF A WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT...IN TURN DUE TO LOW PRESSURE LOCATED NORTH NORTHWEST OF THE STATE. OVERNIGHT SOUNDINGS ARE QUITE UNSTABLE...WITH K-INDICES IN THE 30S AND LIFTED INDICES BETWEEN -2.5 AND -5.0 AT LIHUE AND HILO...RESPECTIVELY. SATELLITE LOOP SHOWS LOTS OF LAYERED CLOUDS ACROSS THE EASTERN END OF THE STATE...BUT VERY FEW CLOUDS ACROSS MOLOKAI...OAHU AND KAUAI. HOWEVER...WE EXPECT AFTERNOON HEATING AND SEABREEZE CONVERGENCE TO PROVIDE THE TRIGGER FOR SHOWER DEVELOPMENT THIS AFTERNOON...PROBABLY OVER THE WESTERN ISLANDS FIRST GIVEN THE UNFETTERED INSOLATION THERE. HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE AS INITIAL CONVECTION IS ENHANCED BY THE HIGHLY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE. THE SITUATION SHOULD BE DRIER TOMORROW...WHEN WEAK HIGH PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO NOSE IN NORTH OF HAWAII. THE RESULTING EASTERLY TRADES OF 5 TO 15 MPH MAY NOT BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PREVENT LOCAL SEABREEZES AND CONVECTION OVER LEEWARD AREAS...BUT MOVEMENT OF THE SURFACE LOW NORTH AND AWAY FROM HAWAII SHOULD STABILIZE THINGS A BIT. TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY...PICKING UP A BIT FRIDAY AFTERNOON. BY SATURDAY...AN APPROACHING SHEARLINE WILL PUSH THE WEAK RIDGE VERY NEAR US...WEAKENING OUR WINDS INTO THE LIGHT AND VARIABLE CATEGORY ONCE AGAIN. THIS SHEARLINE WILL PRODUCE RAINFALL FOR THE ISLANDS SOMETIME IN THE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY TIMEFRAME...BUT MODELS DISAGREE ON PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS. NEXT SUNDAY AND MONDAY LOOK LIKE THE WETTEST DAYS SO FAR...BUT SHOWERS MAY LINGER INTO TUESDAY AS THE SHEARLINE FALLS APART OVER OR NEAR THE BIG ISLAND AND THE RESURGENT TRADES MOVE THE SHEARLINE SHOWERS BACK ACROSS THE ISLANDS. POWELL .HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE . WATCHES......NONE . ADVISORIES...NONE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Dust Storm in California, March 13, 2002
- Dust Storm and High Wind in California, March 13, 2002
- High Wind in Utah, March 13, 2002
- High Wind in Arizona, March 13, 2002
- Winter Storm in South Dakota, March 13 to 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in Colorado, March 13 to 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in Utah, March 13 to 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, March 13 to 14, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, March 13 to 14, 2002
- High Wind in California, March 13, 2002
- High Wind in California, March 13, 2002
- High Wind in California, March 13, 2002
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 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: 5287335.