A brush fire scorched about 3000 acres on the isle of Molokai, at one time threatening two dozen homes in the town of Hoolehua. The fire, however, did destroy a family's storage shed with its contents.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
A brush fire scorched about 3000 acres on the isle of Molokai, at one time threatening two dozen homes in the town of Hoolehua. The fire, however, did destroy a family's storage shed with its contents. It also destroyed a house under construction and killed a calf trapped in a corral. The dollar cost of damages was a least $10 thousand. Firefighters from Molokai and Maui fought the blaze over a six-day period, utilizing standard methods and four water-carrying helicopters. Four firemen sustained minor injuries--smoke inhalation and strained backs. The cause of the fire was unknown.
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 Aug 12, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 10 AM HST TUE AUG 12 2003 SUMMARY...STRONG HIGH PRESSURE TO OUR NORTH COMBINED WITH LOW PRESSURE TO OUR SOUTH WILL CONTINUE OUR BRISK TRADE WINDS. SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ISOLATED THE REMAINDER OF THIS WEEK BUT COULD INCREASE BY THE WEEKEND OR EARLY NEXT WEEK. DISCUSSION...A FAIRLY STRONG 1032 MB HIGH TO OUR NORTHEAST WILL KEEP THE STATE UNDER A TRADE WIND WEATHER REGIME RIGHT THROUGH THE WEEK. THIS WILL BRING FRESH TO OCCASIONALLY STRONG TRADE WINDS TO THE STATE...ALONG WITH MAINLY WINDWARD AND MAUKA SHOWERS FROM MOISTURE GATHERED IN THEIR LONG TREK ACROSS THE OCEAN BETWEEN HERE AND THE WEST COAST. THE HIGH WILL WEAKEN VERY SLOWLY LATER IN THE WEEK AND THUS HAVE DROPPED TRADES JUST A BIT TOWARD MIDWEEK. AT THE SAME TIME HOWEVER...SEVERAL TROPICAL SYSTEMS ARE SPINNING TO OUR EAST AND TO THE SOUTHEAST. THESE SYSTEMS INCLUDE THE OLD GUILLERMO AND HILDA FAR TO THE EAST AND A DISTURBED AREA TO OUR SOUTHEAST. THE AREA TO OUR SOUTHEAST MAY COMBINE WITH WHAT IS LEFT OF GUILLERMO AND MOVE ALONG A NORTHWESTERLY PATH TAKING IT UP ALONG THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE ISLAND CHAIN. IF THIS HAPPENS OUR TRADES WILL BECOME AT FIRST MORE NORTHEASTERLY AND THEN DISAPPEAR WITH THE HUMIDITY INCREASING. DEPENDING ON HOW CLOSE THIS SYSTEM COMES WE COULD GET SOME SHOWERS OUT OF IT. THIS IS A FAR FROM CERTAIN DEVELOPMENT AS THE MODELS ARE IN TOTAL DISAGREEMENT. HOWEVER IF IT DOES DEVELOP ALONG THESE LINES THEN THIS SEQUENCE WILL HAPPEN IN THE TIME FRAME AROUND NEXT WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE PRESENT FORECAST HAS BEEN LEFT UNCHANGED TILL WE DEVELOP A BETTER CONSISTENCY ABOUT FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS. ROSENDAL .HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE . WATCHES......NONE . ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, August 2003
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: 5327714.