Hawaii, 2002

Strong Wind in Hawaii, November 15, 2002

November 15, 2002 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Winds gusting to 40 mph, associated with a shear line moving through the isle of Kauai, were strong enough to snap off the top of a coconut tree on the Wailua Golf Course in Lihue. A worker standing under the tree was struck by the falling debris and fatally injured.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
1
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.

Winds gusting to 40 mph, associated with a shear line moving through the isle of Kauai, were strong enough to snap off the top of a coconut tree on the Wailua Golf Course in Lihue. A worker standing under the tree was struck by the falling debris and fatally injured.

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 Nov 15, 4:59 AM HST, 3 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 15, 4:59 AM HST, 3 hours 1 minute before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND

SCATTEROMETER DATA SHOWS THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE REMAINS NORTH OF WAKE
NEAR 30N. SATELLITE SHOWS SMALL PATCHES OF BROKEN LOW CLOUDS EAST
OF 170E RIDING IN ON THE BRISK TRADES. LITTLE CHANGE IS EXPECTED
THROUGH THE NEXT 24 HOURS...WITH 15 KNOT TRADES GUSTING TO 25 AT
TIMES. PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WILL CONTINUE...WITH JUST A SLIGHT CHANCE
OF A SHOWER THROUGH TODAY. CHANCE OF A SHOWER A BIT HIGHER TONIGHT
AS THE GFS MODEL SHOWS INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE ADVECTION.

WAVEWATCH III MODEL SHOWS A SHORT PERIOD TRADE WIND SWELL OF 10 FEET
WILL CONTINUE THE NEXT 24 HOURS...GRADUALLY INCREASING IN HEIGHT AND
PERIOD THEREAFTER.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Kauai

When
November 15, 8:00 AM HST
Where
Kauai forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Strong Wind, Kauai2002-11-1561MaleGolfingDirect

What these are

Strong Wind
Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, November 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: 5325209.