Heavy Rain in Hawaii, May 13, 2002

Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, May 13, 2002
Start: 2002-05-13T20:45
End: 2002-05-13T23:45
Location: Hawaii

May 13, 2002 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy showers caused ponding of roadways and minor stream and drainage ditch flooding in eastern parts of East Maui. No serious injuries or property damage were reported.

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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Floods
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 caused ponding of roadways and minor stream and drainage ditch flooding in eastern parts of East Maui. No serious injuries or property damage 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 May 13, 8:30 PM HST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 13, 8:30 PM HST, 15 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST MON MAY 13 2002

SUMMARY...A LOW ALOFT NORTH OF KAUAI IS MOVING EASTWARD AND
WEAKENING. THAT WILL MAKE THE ATMOSPHERE MORE STABLE OVER THE MAIN
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. A SURFACE LOW WEST OF KAUAI IS MOVING WEST AND
WEAKENING AND A SURFACE RIDGE IS BUILDING. THAT WILL ALLOW DRIER
TRADE WIND WEATHER TO SPREAD WESTWARD OVER THE ISLANDS.

DISCUSSION...SATELLITE AND RADAR DATA SHOW THAT THE BAND OF HEAVY
SHOWERS THAT WAS OVER MAUI COUNTY TODAY HAS MOVED SOUTHEASTWARD AND
WEAKENED. THERE ARE STILL HEAVY SHOWERS NEAR THE ISLANDS BUT MOST
ARE NOW OVER WATER NORTHEAST OF MAUI AND SOUTH OF THE BIG ISLAND.
LAYERED CLOUDS STILL BLANKET MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND BUT
CLOUDS HAVE BECOME SCATTERED OVER KAUAI AND OAHU.

OUR WATER VAPOR LOOPS SHOW A LOW ALOFT 160 MILES NORTH OF KAUAI. THE
LOW HAS BEEN MOVING TOWARDS THE EAST AT 8 MILES AN HOUR AND
WEAKENING. A NORTH TO SOUTH SURFACE TROUGH 225 MILES WEST OF KAUAI
IS MOVING TOWARDS THE WEST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR. A SMALL SURFACE LOW
WITHIN THE TROUGH 250 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF KAUAI IS MOVING
TOWARDS THE SOUTHWEST AT 10 MILES AN HOUR.

THE LOW ALOFT IS FORECAST TO FILL. AS IT DOES...THE ATMOSPHERE OVER
THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS WILL RAPIDLY STABILIZE AND END THE THREAT
OF HEAVY RAIN BY TUESDAY EVENING. THERE IS STILL A LOT OF MOISTURE
NEAR THE ISLANDS AND ACCORDING TO THE 14/00Z AVN MODEL...SOME OF
THIS MOISTURE MAY SPREAD WESTWARD OVER THE ISLANDS TUESDAY BRINGING
ONE MORE EPISODE OF SHOWERY WEATHER. TRADEWINDS WILL BUILD BACK IN
OVER THE ISLANDS WEDNESDAY AND WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEK.

DONALDSON

.HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE
.      WATCHES......FLASH FLOOD MAUI MOLOKAI AND LANAI CANCELED AT
       715 PM HST
.      ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT FOR THUNDERSTORMS NEAR MAUI AND THE
       BIG ISLAND.

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, Maui

When: May 13, 8:45 PM HST to 11:45 PM HST
Where: Maui County, Hana
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 20.868, -156.617 (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, May 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: 5287876.