Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 9 to 10, 2002

Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 9 to 10, 2002
Start: 2002-03-09T21:00
End: 2002-03-10T00:15
Location: Hawaii

March 9 to 10, 2002 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy showers caused minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways in windward and south central sections of Oahu. 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.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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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 caused minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways in windward and south central sections of Oahu. 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 9, 8:30 PM HST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 9, 8:30 PM HST, 30 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST SAT MAR 9 2002

SUMMARY...SHOWERS HAVE INTENSIFIED A BIT OVER MOLOKAI...OAHU AND
KAUAI AS WEAK CONVERGENCE LEE OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS ENHANCES
CONVECTION THIS EVENING. THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI ARE MUCH DRIER AT
THIS HOUR. EXPECT BOUTS OF CLOUDS AND SHOWERS...MAINLY IN THE
AFTERNOON AND EVENINGS...FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. LIGHT SOUTHEAST
WINDS WILL BECOME EASTERLIES OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...BUT WILL STAY
IN THE 5 TO 15 MPH RANGE FOR THE SMALLER ISLANDS AND IN THE 10 TO 20
MPH RANGE FOR THE BIG ISLAND.

DISCUSSION...A FIELD OF STRATOCUMULUS AND CUMULUS CLOUDS COVERS
HAWAIIAN WATERS NORTH AND NORTHWEST OF MAUI COUNTY THIS EVENING.
WEAK SOUTHEAST FLOW HAS SET UP A SERIES OF CONVERGENCE ZONES LEE OF
MAUI...MOLOKAI AND OAHU. SINCE THESE CONVERGENCE ZONES PASS ACROSS
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS...SHOWERS PRODUCED WITHIN THE ZONES ARE OCCURRING
OVER LAND. OROGRAPHIC LIFTING ALONG WINDWARD MOUNTAIN RANGES
ENHANCES THE SHOWERS A BIT...WITH RAINFALL RATES OF BETWEEN 1.2 AND
1.8 INCHES PER HOUR NOTED AT DIFFERENT WINDWARD OAHU RAIN GAUGES
WITHIN THE PAST TWO HOURS. THE FIELD OF LOW CLOUDS ACROSS HAWAIIAN
WATERS LIES NORTH OF THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI...SO CONDITIONS THERE
ARE MUCH DRIER. WEAK SUBSIDENCE ALOFT DUE TO HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD
CAP THE CONVECTION AT THE NUISANCE SHOWER LEVEL. AFTERNOON SOUNDINGS
SHOW CONTINUED UNSTABLE CONDITIONS...BUT STABILITY HAS INCREASED
CONSIDERABLY OVER LIHUE...WITH K-INDICES DECREASING FROM 27 TO 7
OVER 24 HOURS.

MODELS SHOW A CONTINUED SLOW SHIFT IN WIND DIRECTION FROM
SOUTHEASTERLY TO EASTERLY OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS THE INVERTED
SURFACE TROUGH WEST OF THE ISLANDS CONTINUES TO MOVE WEST AND FILL.
AN UPPER TROUGH WHICH PASSED WESTWARD TO THE SOUTH OF THE ISLANDS A
FEW DAYS AGO STALLED NEAR THE DATELINE EARLIER TODAY...AND APPEARS
TO BE BACKTRACKING TOWARDS THE 808 STATE ONCE AGAIN. BY MONDAY OR
TUESDAY...THIS TROUGH MAY BE CLOSE ENOUGH TO ENHANCE SHOWERS. TRADE
WINDS MAY BE TOO WEAK TO PREVENT THE ONSET OF AFTERNOON SEABREEZES
OVER LEEWARD AREAS...SO CONVECTIVE CLOUDS AND SHOWERS REMAIN A
POSSIBILITY EACH AFTERNOON THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. THE WEAK
TRADES WILL BRING ISOLATED SHOWERS TO WINDWARD AREAS AS WELL.
OVERALL...MORNINGS SHOULD BE THE SUNNIEST TIME OF THE DAY.

POWELL

.HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE
.      WATCHES......NONE
.      ADVISORIES...NONE

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, Honolulu

When: March 9, 9:00 PM HST to March 10, 12:15 AM HST
Where: Honolulu County, Kaaawa
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (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: 5287332.