Heavy Rain in Hawaii, August 5, 2003

Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, August 5, 2003
Start: 2003-08-05T14:58
End: 2003-08-05T17:00
Location: Hawaii

August 5, 2003 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy showers caused ponding of roadways and minor stream and drainage ditch flooding in windward portions of the Big Island of Hawaii. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries.

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.

Heavy showers caused ponding of roadways and minor stream and drainage ditch flooding in windward portions of the Big Island of Hawaii. There were no reports of serious 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 Aug 5, 10:00 AM HST, 4 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 10:00 AM HST, 4 hours 58 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST TUE AUG 5 2003

SUMMARY...LIGHT WINDS AND THE CHANCE OF AFTERNOON SHOWERS WILL GIVE
WAY TO MODERATE TO BRISK TRADE WINDS AND ISOLATED NIGHT AND MORNING
SHOWERS WEDNESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE TO THE NORTH WILL KEEP US WELL
WITHIN THE TRADE WIND BELT THE REST OF THIS WEEK.

DISCUSSION...A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH OVER AND NORTH OF HAWAII HAS
FLATTENED THE PRESSURE GRADIENT...RESULTING IN LIGHT TRADE WINDS AND
LOCAL LAND AND SEA BREEZES. LIGHT WINDS AND AN ABUNDANCE OF MOISTURE
ALONG WITH A MISSING SUBSIDENCE INVERSION WILL BE THE CASE OVER THE
BIG ISLAND...RESULTING IN A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON.
THE SURFACE TROUGH WILL MOVE AWAY TO THE WEST...RESULTING IN
PRESSURE RISES AND STRONGER TRADE WINDS BY WEDNESDAY. A SUBTROPICAL
HIGH WILL BE STATIONARY TO THE NORTH...RESULTING IN MODERATE TO
BRISK TRADES THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. A NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST
TROPICAL UPPER TROPOSPHERIC TROUGH...TUTT FOR SHORT...WILL REMAIN
JUST NORTH OF HAWAII...RESULTING IN SOUTHWEST WINDS ALOFT AND
PATCHY CIRRUS AT TIMES. CRAIG.

.HFO...WARNINGS.....NONE
.      ADVISORIES...NONE
.      WATCHES......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: August 5, 2:58 PM HST to 5:00 PM HST
Where: Hawaii County, Honokaa
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

Every storm in Hawaii in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, August 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: 5327704.