Lightning, Kauai
- When
- May 21, 1:15 PM HST to 2:00 PM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, 3 mi NNE of Wailua
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Lightning Strike in Hawaii, May 21, 2002
Many residents of Kapaa lost electrical power for about 45 minutes as lightning struck a transformer in the early afternoon. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries, 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
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.
Many residents of Kapaa lost electrical power for about 45 minutes as lightning struck a transformer in the early afternoon. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries, 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 May 21, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 21, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 10 AM HST TUE MAY 21 2002 SUMMARY...A SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE JUST NORTH OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS WILL MOVE OVER THE ISLANDS...RESULTING IN LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS WITH CLEAR COOL NIGHTS...SUNNY MORNINGS AND CLOUDY AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS WITH A FEW SHOWERS. DISCUSSION...OTHER THAN LINGERING CLOUDINESS OVER KAUAI...MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES PREVAIL OVER OUR ISLANDS THIS MORNING. CLOUDS ARE FORMING AT THIS HOUR ALONG THE MOUNTAIN SLOPES UNDER DAYTIME INSOLATION. MOST OF THE ISLANDS SHOULD CLOUDY UP BY THE AFTERNOON WITH A FEW SHOWERS POSSIBLE. A SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE IS STILL ABOUT 300 MILES NORTH OF THE ISLAND AND WILL GRADUALLY MOVE OVER THE ISLANDS IN THE COMING DAYS. THE CLOSE PROXIMITY OF THIS RIDGE TO THE ISLANDS SETS UP A LAND-SEA BREEZE TYPE WEATHER REGIME...WHICH IS EXPECTED TO REIGN THROUGH THIS WEEK. LATEST FORECAST CHARTS SHOW LITTLE CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS RUN. PREVIOUS PACKAGE COVERS THE SCENARIO WELL SO NO UPDATES AT THIS POINT. HUI .HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE . WATCHES......NONE . ADVISORIES...NONE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Lightning
- A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Alaska, May 21 to 31, 2002
- High Wind in Nebraska, May 21, 2002
- High Wind in Colorado, May 21, 2002
- Wildfire in Arizona, May 21 to 31, 2002
- High Wind in Colorado, May 21, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Montana, May 21, 2002
- High Wind in Colorado, May 21, 2002
- High Wind in Nebraska, May 21, 2002
- High Wind in Kansas, May 21, 2002
- High Wind in Colorado, May 21, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Montana, May 21 to 22, 2002
- High Wind in South Dakota, May 21, 2002
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5287964.