Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, May 5 to 6, 2002
Start: 2002-05-05T11:00
End: 2002-05-06T07:00
Location: Hawaii

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.

An upper trough continued to impact the Big Island of Hawaii, generating heavy showers over eastern and southeastern sections of the isle. The rainfall caused minor stream and drainage ditch flooding. There were no reports of serious injuries or property damage. On the other hand, the rain, which began early in the day, caused flooding and closed a portion of the Hawaii Belt Road between Punaluu and Whittington Beach Park beginning at 11 AM and ending at 9 AM on the 6th.

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 5, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 5, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST SUN MAY 5 2002

SUMMARY...EXPECT PERIODS OF SHOWERS...SOME HEAVY...THROUGH TUESDAY
FOR MOST ISLANDS AS INSTABILITY AND ABUNDANT TROPICAL MOISTURE
LINGER. LIGHT WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN AND BLOW FROM THE EAST TO
SOUTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON. THE MAIN SOURCE OF INSTABILITY...AN UPPER
TROUGH...IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN BY MIDWEEK. THIS SHOULD RELIEVE US OF
HEAVY SHOWERS...BUT ENHANCED TRADE WIND SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE AT
IRREGULAR INTERVALS ALL WEEK.

DISCUSSION...A SURFACE TROUGH WEST OF KAUAI HAS THE MAIN HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS WITHIN CONVERGENT EAST TO SOUTHEAST FLOW THIS MORNING. WATER
VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS AN UPPER LOW 200 TO 300 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE
MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...PLACING THESE ISLANDS WITHIN THE WETTEST
PORTION OF THIS SYSTEM. AS A RESULT...HEAVY SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE
THROUGH TUESDAY. OVERNIGHT SOUNDINGS CONFIRM THE INSTABILITY...WITH
K-INDICES OF 21 AND 33 AT LIHUE AND HILO...RESPECTIVELY. BY
WEDNESDAY...MODELS HAVE THE SURFACE TROUGH MOVING WEST AWAY FROM THE
MAIN ISLANDS. AT THE SAME TIME...THE RELATIVELY SMALL UPPER LOW
SOUTHWEST OF US WILL LIFT OUT LEAVING THE BROADER UPPER TROUGH IN
PLACE. WHILE THIS DECREASES INSTABILITY ENOUGH TO CUT OFF THE HEAVY
SHOWERS...ENHANCED TRADE WIND SHOWERS WILL BE WITH US THROUGH THE
WEEK.

THE FLOOD WATCH FOR THE BIG ISLAND REMAINS IN EFFECT AS AN AREA OF
SHOWER-BEARING CLOUDS IS NOW MOVING ONTO THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST
COASTS OF THAT ISLAND. WITH THE LINGERING INSTABILITY OVER THE
STATE...THIS COULD PRODUCE HEAVY SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE FLASH
FLOODING TODAY. THESE SHOWERS MAY EXTEND UP THE ISLAND CHAIN TONIGHT
AND MONDAY.

POWELL

.HFO...WARNINGS...NONE
.      WATCHES...FLOOD BIG ISLAND
.      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, Hawaii

When: May 5, 11:00 AM HST to May 6, 7:00 AM HST
Where: Hawaii County, Volcano
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (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

More

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: 5288909.