Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 29, 2002

Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 29, 2002
Start: 2002-03-29T11:00
End: 2002-03-29T14:05
Location: Hawaii

March 29, 2002 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy showers produced minor drainage ditch and stream flooding and ponding of roadways in southwestern and central areas of Kauai. No serious injuries or property damage were reported, however.

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.

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Wind
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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 produced minor drainage ditch and stream flooding and ponding of roadways in southwestern and central areas of Kauai. No serious injuries or property damage were reported, 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 29, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST FRI MAR 29 2002

SUMMARY...A FRONTAL BAND NEAR OAHU WILL BRING HEAVY SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS TO OAHU AND MOLOKAI THIS MORNING. THIS BAND OF SHOWERS
WILL LINGER OVER MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND INTO SUNDAY.

DISCUSSION...THE KONA LOW IS CENTERED ABOUT 950 MILES NORTHWEST OF
KAUAI NEAR 35N 163W. FORECAST MODELS MOVE THE LOW GRADUALLY
NORTHWARD...WITH THE FRONTAL BAND OR CONVERGENCE LINE CONTINUING TO
ITS SOUTH AND REMAINING OVER THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...BUT WEAKENING
SLOWLY. AT 10 AM THIS MORNING...A PORTION OF THIS CONVERGENCE BAND
LYING THROUGH THE KAUAI CHANNEL WAS APPARANTLY BEING ENHANCED BY
DIVERGENCE IN THE LEFT FRONT EXIT REGION OF THE SUBTROPICAL JET
OVERLYING THE ISLANDS. SEVERAL OVERSHOOTING TOPS COULD BE SEEN IN
VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY...INDICATING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EMBEDDED
IN A CIRRUS SHIELD WITH TOPS TO 39,000 FEET...SOUTH OF KAUAI AND
INTO THE KAUAI CHANNEL.

WITH THE CONVERGENCE BAND REMAINING OVER THE ISLANDS...GENERALLY
CLOUDY SKIES WILL REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH THE EASTER WEEKEND. HEAVY
SHOWERS WILL BE OVER OAHU INTO EARLY THIS AFTERNOON...SPREADING TO
MOLOKAI LATER IN THE DAY. THE FORECAST MODELS STALL THE SHOWER BAND
OVER MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND THROUGH EASTER SUNDAY. THE SOUTHWEST
FLOW ALONG THE BAND THEN TAPS INTO TROPICAL MOISTURE SOUTH OF THE
STATE...AND ONCE AGAIN OVERSPREADS ALL ISLANDS WITH SHOWERS INTO
TUESDAY IN THE LATEST 12Z MODEL RUN. THUS WEATHER OVER THE ALOHA
STATE IS FORECAST TO REMAIN UNSETTLED AND SHOWERY AT TIMES INTO
EARLY NEXT WEEK.

SURF...THE KONA LOW WILL PRODUCE A 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...BUT SURF HEIGHTS MAY
STILL EXCEED ADVISORY LEVELS SATURDAY INTO MONDAY. FARRELL

.HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE
.      WATCHES......NONE
.      ADVISORIES...HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK CANCELLED AT 10 AM
.                   SMALL CRAFT FOR INCREASING SOUTHWEST WINDS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Kauai

When: March 29, 11:00 AM HST to 2:05 PM HST
Where: Kauai County, Kekaha
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Hawaii in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5287425.