Heavy Rain, Hawaii
- When
- May 3, 6:20 PM HST to 10:30 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, Hilo
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, May 3, 2002
An upper trough near the islands produced heavy showers in eastern and southeastern parts of the Big Island of Hawaii. The rain caused minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways.
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.
An upper trough near the islands produced heavy showers in eastern and southeastern parts of the Big Island of Hawaii. The rain caused minor stream and drainage ditch flooding and ponding of roadways. There were no reports of significant property damage or injuries.
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 3, 4:05 PM HST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 3, 4:05 PM HST, 2 hours 15 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... OUR SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW ONLY SCATTERED LOW CLOUDS NEAR THE SAMOA ISLANDS AND UPSTREAM TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS. A BAND OF BROKEN LAYERED CLOUDS WITH ISOLATED CUMULONIMBUS AND SCATTERED TOWERING CUMULUS CLOUDS IS ABOUT 200 NAUTICAL MILES NORTHEAST OF PAGO PAGO. THE BAND HAS BEEN NEARLY STATIONARY AND WEAKENED OVER THE PAST 12 HOURS. AN EAST SOUTHEAST TO WEST NORTHWEST SHEARLINE...THE TRAILING END OF A FRONTAL BAND...IS ABOUT 180 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PAGO PAGO. THE BAND HAS MOVED SLOWLY TOWARDS THE NORTHEAST AND WEAKENED OVER THE PAST 12 HOURS. ACCORDING TO THE AVN MODEL...THE SHEARLINE WILL STALL SOUTHWEST OF THE ISLANDS AND DISSIPATE. THE CLOUDS AREA TO YOUR NORTHEAST MAY MOVE OVER THE ISLANDS TONIGHT AND BRING AN INCREASE IN CLOUDS AND SHOWERS BUT IT WILL BE WEAKEN BEFORE IT REACHES YOU. WINDS WILL REMAIN FROM SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF EAST AT 10 TO 15 MILES AN HOUR. NO SIGNIFICANT SWELL IS EXPECTED TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING. AN EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE LONG PERIOD SOUTH SWELL WILL ARRIVE SUNDAY NIGHT. SWELL HEIGHTS WILL RISE TO 8 FEET BEFORE SUNRISE ON MONDAY. LONG PERIOD SWELLS OF THAT SIZE COULD PRODUCE SURF AS HIGH AS 18 FEET. OUTLOOK FOR MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... WEATHER WILL BE PARTLY CLOUDY WITH ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS. WILL SLOWLY SHIFT FROM EAST SOUTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS TO EAST AT 5 TO 10 KNOTS BY WEDNESDAY. NARRATIVE DISCUSSION FOR TUVALU TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...TUVALU TIME... OUR SATELLITE PICTURES SHOW ONLY SCATTERED CLOUDS ACROSS TUVALU. YOUR SKIES WILL BE PARTLY CLOUDY WITH ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS THROUGH MONDAY. WINDS WILL REMAIN FROM THE EAST SOUTHEAST AROUND 10 KNOTS.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, May 3, 2002
- High Wind in Massachusetts, May 3, 2002
- High Wind in New York, May 3, 2002
- Flash Flood in Alabama, May 3 to 4, 2002
- High Wind in Vermont, May 3, 2002
- Strong Wind in Maine, May 3, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 3 to 4, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 3, 2002
- Strong Wind in New Hampshire, May 3, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, May 3, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 3, 2002
- High Wind in South Dakota, May 3, 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: 5288905.