Heavy Rain, Kauai
- When
- March 28, 10:00 PM HST to March 29, 1:00 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, Countywide
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 28 to 29, 2002
Showers and thunderstorms produced minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways across much of Kauai. However, there were no reports of significant injuries or property damage.
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.
Showers and thunderstorms produced minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways across much of Kauai. However, there were no reports of significant injuries or property damage.
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 28, 8:30 PM HST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 28, 8:30 PM HST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 830 PM HST THU MAR 28 2002 SUMMARY...A COLD FRONT ACCOMPANIED BY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE FROM KAUAI TO OAHU AND MAUI COUNTY TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. THE CHANCE OF HEAVY RAIN MAY LINGER OVER MAUI COUNTY INTO SUNDAY. DISCUSSION...THE KONA LOW IS CENTERED ABOUT 850 MILES NORTHWEST OF KAUAI NEAR 33N 166W. PROGS MOVE IT TO THE NORTHEAST TO NEAR 35N 161W BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON...THEN MOVE IT SLOWLY NORTH. A COLD FRONT EXTENDING FROM THE LOW TO ABOUT 125 MILES NORTHWEST AND 400 MILES SOUTHWEST OF KAUAI IS MOVING TO THE EAST AT 10 TO 15 MPH. ACTIVE THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE FRONT ARE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST AT 20 TO 30 MPH. THE BULK OF THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PASS NORTH OF KAUAI...BUT A NORTH/SOUTH PREFRONTAL SQUALL LINE FORMING JUST WEST OF NIIHAU WILL MOVE ACROSS KAUAI TONIGHT. THE FORECAST CALLS FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO MOVE DOWN THE ISLAND CHAIN TO MAUI COUNTY FRIDAY AND PERHAPS TO THE BIG ISLAND SATURDAY. ANOTHER COLD FRONT WILL FOLLOW BEHIND THE FIRST. PROGS KEEP THIS FRONT INACTIVE...EXCEPT FOR SHIFTING THE WINDS TO THE NORTHWEST BEHIND IT. PROGS INDICATE THAT HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MAY FORM ALONG THE FRONT AS IT STALL OVER MAUI COUNTY SUNDAY. THERE REMAINS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY WITH THE FIRST FRONT REACHING THE BIG ISLAND AND THE SECOND FIRING UP OVER MAUI COUNTY. STAY TUNED. SURF...THE KONA LOW WILL PRODUCE A SIGNIFICANT SWELL THAT WILL AFFECT THE NORTH AND NORTHWEST FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS THIS WEEKEND. THE BULK OF THE SWELL IS EXPECTED TO PASS WEST OF KAUAI. SURF HEIGHTS COULD EXCEED ADVISORY LEVELS FROM SATURDAY INTO MONDAY. .HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE . WATCHES......NONE . ADVISORIES...HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK . SMALL CRAFT FOR INCREASING SOUTH WINDS
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
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: 5287423.