Heavy Rain, Kauai
- When
- March 16, 4:30 PM HST to 7:30 PM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, 6 mi W of Hanalei
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 16, 2002
Heavy showers and thunderstorms being triggered by an advancing cold front caused minor stream flooding in northwestern areas of Kauai, along the Na Pali Coast. Twelve hikers were stranded near a swollen stream and had to be rescued by helicopter.
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 and thunderstorms being triggered by an advancing cold front caused minor stream flooding in northwestern areas of Kauai, along the Na Pali Coast. Twelve hikers were stranded near a swollen stream and had to be rescued by helicopter. However, there were no reports of serious injuries or property damage otherwise.
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 16, 4:00 PM HST, 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 16, 4:00 PM HST, 30 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 4 PM HST SAT MAR 16 2002 SUMMARY...A COLD FRONT ABOUT 15 MILES NORTHWEST OF OAHU AT 4 PM IS MOVING SOUTHEAST ABOUT 15 MPH. AHEAD OF THIS FRONT SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE BREAKING OUT ON THE ISLANDS...WHILE BEHIND IT SHOWERS PERSIST FOR SOME DISTANCE ALONG NORTHFACING SLOPES AND OVER THE MOUNTAINS. COOLER AIR ON NORTHERLY WINDS IS FUNNELING IN BEHIND THE FRONT. THE FRONT APPEARS TO BE WEAKENING AT THIS TIME. DISCUSSION...A COLD FRONT IS MOVING SOUTHEASTWARD TOWARD OAHU AT ABOUT 15 KT THIS AFTERNOON TO LIKELY ARRIVE NEAR KAENA POINT SHORTLY AFTER 4 PM AND CLEAR HAWAII KAI AROUND 6 PM. FROM OAHU THE FRONT WILL WORK ITS WAY FARTHER DOWN THE CHAIN. THE FRONT APPEARS TO BE WEAKENING AND BREAKING APART AS IT CROSSES THE ISLAND TERRAIN. AHEAD OF THE FRONT CONVECTIVE SHOWERS HAVE BEEN OCCURING ON ALL ISLANDS WITH OAHU GETTING THE LIONS SHARE OF THE RAINFALL. THESE SHOWERS HAVE BEEN JUMPING AROUND WITH NEW CELLS POPPING UP WHERE THERE STILL WAS SOME HEAT IN THE GROUND THUS TENDING TO SPREAD THE RAIN AROUND MORE EVENLY. PRESENTLY A HEAVY SHOWER IS ALSO LOCATED NOT FAR FROM THE MOLOKAI RADAR SITE WITH A SMATTERING OF SMALLER CELLS ON MAUI AND BIG ISLAND ALSO. THE AIR MASS BEHIND THE COLD FRONT IS RATHER CHILLY WITH THE TEMPERATURE DROPPING ABOUT 5 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT IN SHORT ORDER AFTER FRONTAL PASSAGE. THIS...TOGETHER WITH WINDINESS AND CLOUDS AND RAW RAIN SHOWERS WILL MAKE FOR POOR BEACH WEATHER. THE CHILLY WINDS GUSTING TO NEAR 30 MPH WILL BE WITH US FOR SEVERAL DAYS AS THE LOW PRESSURE AREA DEEPENS NEARBY TO THE NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS BEFORE FINALLY MOVING OFF TOWARD THE NORTHEAST TOWARD CALIFORNIA AROUND MIDWEEK. ROSENDAL .HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE . WATCHES......NONE . ADVISORIES...FLOOD STATEMENT OAHU
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
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Tennessee, March 16 to 22, 2002
- Avalanche in Utah, March 16, 2002
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, March 16, 2002
- Winter Weather in California, March 16, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, March 16 to 17, 2002
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in California, March 16 to 18, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Utah, March 16 to 17, 2002
- High Surf in Hawaii, March 16 to 19, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, March 16, 2002
- High Wind in California, March 16 to 18, 2002
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, March 16, 2002
- Wildfire and Dust Storm in California, March 16 to 17, 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: 5287338.