Winter Storm in Hawaii, December 27 to 31, 2003

Name: Winter Storm in Hawaii, December 27 to 31, 2003
Start: 2003-12-27T20:15
End: 2003-12-31T16:00
Location: Hawaii

December 27 to 31, 2003 · NWS HFO · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Several inches of snow accumulated at and near the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa over the last several days in December. Several times from the 27th to the 31st, winds in excess of 35 mph dropped visibilities below one quarter mile over 3 hour periods.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

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 Dec 27, 4:00 PM HST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 27, 4:00 PM HST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
4 PM HST SAT DEC 27 2003

.SYNOPSIS...
A KONA LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS DEVELOPING WEST OF THE ISLANDS...
TURNING OUR WINDS SOUTHERLY AND OUR WEATHER MORE MOIST AND
UNSETTLED. CLOUDS AND SHOWERS ARE INCREASING STATEWIDE...AND THESE
WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE
THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT AND SUNDAY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A COMPLEX WINTERTIME WEATHER SITUATION IS DEVELOPING FOR THE
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. A STRONG PACKET OF VORTICITY IS SLIDING DOWN A
MID-PACIFIC TROUGH ALONG 160 W...AND THIS IS FORECAST TO CUT OFF
INTO A MID-LEVEL OR KONA LOW NEAR KAUAI ON SUNDAY. THIS WILL PLACE
THE ENTIRE STATE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DIVERGENT FLOW ALOFT ALONG
WITH MOIST INFLOW OF AIR FROM THE TROPICS AT LOWER LEVELS. WITH THE
COLDER AIR ALOFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE CUT-OFF LOW AND THE WARM MOIST
AIR AT THE SURFACE...THE STAGE IS SET FOR CONVECTIVE INSTABILITY.
THE RESULT WILL BE UNSETTLED WEATHER WITH HEAVY SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE
THUNDERSTORMS STATEWIDE.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
A COLD FRONT NEAR KAUAI IS WEAKENING AS AN UPPER LEVEL LOW BEGINS TO
TAKE SHAPE WEST OF THE STATE. THIS LOW IS EXPECTED TO TAKE A
POSITION JUST SOUTHWEST OF KAUAI ON SUNDAY...KEEPING CLOUDS AND
SHOWERS OVER THE ISLANDS. A FLOOD WATCH ISSUED FOR KAUAI THIS
MORNING IS BEING EXTENDED TO THE REST OF THE STATE THIS EVENING AS
THE UPPER LEVEL LOW DROPS INTO PLACE SOUTH OF KAUAI TONIGHT AND
SUNDAY. HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD
RAPIDLY OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE STATE TONIGHT...AND CONTINUE TO
MOVE OVER THE ISLANDS ON SUNDAY. ALSO...WITH DEEP MOISTURE BEING
DRAWN UP FROM SOUTH OF THE BIG ISLAND AND STRONG WINDS EXPECTED
AROUND THE DEVELOPING KONA LOW ON SUNDAY...A WINTER STORM WATCH HAS
BEEN ISSUED FOR THE SUMMIT AREAS OF THE BIG ISLAND AND HALEAKALA ON
MAUI.

&&

.LONG TERM...
THE MID-LEVEL LOW IS FORECAST TO LINGER NEARBY TO THE SOUTHWEST OF
THE STATE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL KEEP THE STATE IN A MOIST...
UNSTABLE SOUTH TO SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW ALOFT...AND KEEP WEATHER OVER
THE STATE UNSETTLED WITH A CONTINUING CHANCE FOR HEAVY SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS.

THE CUTOFF LOW AT UPPER LEVELS WILL WEAKEN AFTER NEW YEARS AND DRIFT
A BIT WEST. HOWEVER...RENEWED TROUGHING WILL BE DIGGING ACROSS THE
AREA TO THE WEST OF THE ISLANDS. THIS WILL PLACE STRONG UPPER LEVEL
SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS OF A BROADER TROUGH OVER THE STATE. THE AXIS OF
THE TROUGH WILL BE AT ABOUT THE RIGHT DISTANCE WEST OF US TO CAUSE A
RENEWED SURGE OF HEAVY SHOWERS AT A TIME WHEN LOW LEVEL MOISTURE
WILL LIKELY BE VERY HIGH. THUS EXPECT A VERY WET PERIOD FOR THE
ISLANDS DURING THE NEXT WEEK TO TEN DAYS.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.
WINTER STORM WATCH HALEAKALA...MAUNA KEA AND LOA.

&&

FARRELL

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, North and East Hawaii

When: December 27, 8:15 PM HST to December 31, 4:00 PM HST
Where: North and East Hawaii forecast zone
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, South Hawaii

When: December 27, 8:15 PM HST to December 31, 4:00 PM HST
Where: South Hawaii forecast zone
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE

Winter Storm, West Hawaii

When: December 27, 8:15 PM HST to December 31, 4:00 PM HST
Where: West Hawaii forecast zone
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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, December 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: 5328002, 5328003, 5328004.