Flash Flood, Maui
- When
- April 10, 4:30 PM HST to 6:30 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 2 mi N of Kipahulu
- Deaths
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Hawaii, April 10, 2003
A 6-foot wall of water moving down Palikea Stream in Haleakala National Park, in the southeast part of East Maui, swept a Kentucky man and his daughter over a 184-foot precipice at Makahiku Falls. Heavy showers falling at the higher elevations of Mt.
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
- 2
- 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.
A 6-foot wall of water moving down Palikea Stream in Haleakala National Park, in the southeast part of East Maui, swept a Kentucky man and his daughter over a 184-foot precipice at Makahiku Falls. Heavy showers falling at the higher elevations of Mt. Haleakala generated flash flooding conditions over eastern and southeastern parts of the Valley Isle.
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 Apr 10, 4:00 PM HST, 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 10, 4:00 PM HST, 30 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 4 PM HST THU APR 10 2003 SUMMARY...A RELATIVELY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE WILL KEEP THE CHANCE FOR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN THE FORECAST THROUGH SATURDAY. HIGH PRESSURE PASSING BY TO THE NORTH WILL BOOST THE TRADE WINDS THIS WEEKEND. THE HIGH WILL ALSO PUSH A SHEARLINE SOUTHWARD...BRINGING SHOWERS TO THE STATE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. DISCUSSION...WATER VAPOR SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS A SMALL UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED OVER MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND. COOL TEMPERATURES ALOFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW...ALONG WITH AFTERNOON HEATING...HAVE SET OFF THUNDERSTORMS OVER MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND. THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL LIKELY FORM AND DISSIPATE INTO THE EVENING. THE DEPARTURE OF THE LOW TO THE EAST DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE OVER WITH HOWEVER. THIS IS BECAUSE THE LOW IS SITUATED IN A TROPICAL UPPER TROPOSPHERIC TROUGH (TUTT) WHICH IS EXPECTED TO KEEP THE AIRMASS OVER THE ISLANDS UNSTABLE THROUGH SATURDAY. A SURFACE HIGH MOVING EAST ALONG 35N WILL BOOST THE TRADE WINDS AS IT PASSES NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. THE HIGH WILL ALSO PUSH AN OLD SHEARLINE SOUTH OVER THE ISLANDS. THE SHEARLINE WILL SUPPLY THE MOISTURE AND COOL TEMPERATURES WITH THE TUTT WILL SUPPLY THE INSTABILITY REQUIRED FOR LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS AND PERHAPS SOME THUNDERSTORMS INTO SATURDAY. THE SHEARLINE IS NEARLY STATIONARY ABOUT 100 MILES NORTH OF KAUAI. THE TUTT IS FORECAST TO BE REPLACED BY A RIDGE...RESULTING IN DRIER WEATHER COME MONDAY. CRAIG. .HFO...ADVISORIES...FLOOD FOR PORTIONS OF MAUI UNTIL 510 PM . WATCHES AND WARNINGS...NONE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Maui | 2003-04-10 | 39 | Male | In Water | Direct |
| Flash Flood, Maui | 2003-04-10 | 8 | Female | In Water | Direct |
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tropical Storm in Guam, April 10, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 10 to 11, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Strong Wind in Virginia, April 10 to 11, 2003
- Flood in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Flooding in Tennessee, April 10 to 11, 2003
- Strong Wind in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Flooding and Strong Wind in Virginia, April 10, 2003
- Flooding and Strong Wind in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Flooding in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, April 10, 2003
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, April 10, 2003
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, April 2003
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: 5327476.