Flash Flood, Hawaii
- When
- March 5, 3:45 PM HST to 8:30 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, Honomu
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Hawaii, March 5, 2002
Up to four inches of rain fell in northern and eastern parts of the Big Island of Hawaii during the afternoon and evening hours on the 5th of March. Four homes were flooded in Honomu and two were hit by lightning.
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.
Up to four inches of rain fell in northern and eastern parts of the Big Island of Hawaii during the afternoon and evening hours on the 5th of March. Four homes were flooded in Honomu and two were hit by lightning. A landslide forced the closure of Highway 19 just on the Hilo side of the Honomu turnoff for about 19 hours, beginning at 4 PM on the 5th. The closure of the highway, the main north to south artery in eastern Hawaii, snarled traffic and caused disruptions to normal activities from Honokaa to Hilo. However, no serious injuries were reported.
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 5, 2:27 PM HST, 1 hour 18 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 2:27 PM HST, 1 hour 18 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS SCATTERED CUMULUS AND ISOLATED TOWERING CUMULUS CLOUDS MOVING SOUTHWEST IN THE MEAN LOW LEVEL FLOW ACROSS YOUR AREA. A MORE CONCENTRATED AREA OF CLOUDINESS AND SHOWERS EXTENDS FROM SAVAII...WESTWARD AND NORTHWARD FOR SEVERAL HUNDRED MILES. IT IS MOVING SLOWLY WEST. THE LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS A PERSISTENT SOUTHEAST-NORTHWEST ORIENTED RIDGE ABOUT 400 NM SOUTH OF THE SAMOAN ISLANDS. THE LATEST GLOBAL MODEL RUNS MAINTAIN THIS RIDGE IN YOUR VICINITY THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. EXPECT PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS OR A THUNDERSTORM...MAINLY DURING THE DAY OVER THE SLOPES. WINDS WILL BE NORTHEAST 10 KNOTS OR LESS...EXCEPT FOR LOCAL LAND AND SEA BREEZES IN PREFERRED LOCATIONS. NO SIGNIFICANT SWELL IS EXPECTED. OUTLOOK FOR FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS MAY INCREASE AS DISTANT THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP ALONG A TROUGH TO THE SOUTH OF THE SAMOAN ISLANDS. OTHERWISE...LITTLE CHANGE IN THE FORECAST IS EXPECTED. NARRATIVE DISCUSSION FOR TUVALU TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...TUVALU TIME... SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS AN AREA OF CLOUDINESS AND ISOLATED EMBEDDED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ABOUT 80 NM EAST OF FUNAFUTI. THIS CLOUD AREA IS PART OF A LARGER CLOUD SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN MOVING STEADILY WESTWARD FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS...AND WILL LIKELY AFFECT YOUR AREA TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. AT THE SURFACE...THERE IS A RIDGE ABOUT 425 NM SOUTHWEST OF TUVALU. THE LATEST GLOBAL MODELS FORECAST THIS RIDGE TO REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY THROUGH FRIDAY. EXPECT PARTLY TO OCCASIONALLY MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. WINDS WILL BE NORTHEAST 10 KNOTS OR LESS.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Heavy Snow in Montana, March 5 to 7, 2002
- Winter Storm in Montana, March 5 to 6, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, March 5 to 7, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Montana, March 5, 2002
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, March 5, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, March 5, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, March 5 to 6, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, March 5 to 7, 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: 5287323.