High Wind, South Hawaii Including Kau
- When
- December 29, 8:00 PM HST to December 30, 10:00 AM HST
- Where
- South Hawaii Including Kau forecast zone
- Measured
- 75 kt (86 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind in Hawaii, December 29 to 30, 2003
High pressure building east of the isles and low pressure west of the state combined to produce east to east/southeast winds of 40 to 60 mph, with gusts to 75 mph, in southern and southwestern parts of the Big Island of Hawaii. The area effected was from Captain Cook to South Point.
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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
High pressure building east of the isles and low pressure west of the state combined to produce east to east/southeast winds of 40 to 60 mph, with gusts to 75 mph, in southern and southwestern parts of the Big Island of Hawaii. The area effected was from Captain Cook to South Point. The high winds tore the roofs off of at least two homes in Hawaiian Ranchos in the Kau District and knocked out electrical power to several thousand residents in Kau and in the South Kona District. The cost of damages to the homes was not available. There were no reports of serious 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 Dec 29, 4:10 PM HST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 29, 4:10 PM HST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY... THE SURFACE LOW IS ABOUT 500 NM WEST. SATELLITE SHOWS CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW ABOUT 200 NM WEST OF SAVAII WITH THE MAIN CONVERGENCE BAND ABOUT 100 NM NORTH OF SAMOA. THERE ARE SEVERAL ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS JUST NORTH OF SAVAII BUT FEWER CLOUDS IN YOUR VICINITY. THE SURFACE TROUGH WILL REMAIN JUST TO YOUR SOUTH. MODELS DISAGREE ON MOVEMENT OF THE SURFACE LOW. GFS PLACES IT ABOUT 350 NM NORTHWEST ON WEDNESDAY BUT THE UK MODEL HAS IT WEAKER AND OVER THE INDEPENDENT STATE. THE NOGAPS PLACES IT FAR TO THE SOUTHEAST. EXPECT PARTLY CLOUDY WEATHER WITH AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES AND PRIMARILY INTERIOR SHOWERS WITH THE CHANCE FOR HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. LIGHT NORTHEAST WINDS 10 MPH WITH AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES. NO SIGNIFICANT SWELLS ARE EXPECTED. OUTLOOK FOR THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... THE GFS MODEL DEEPENS THE THE SURFACE LOW AND MOVES IT ABOUT 150 NM SOUTH OF SAVAII ON FRIDAY. THIS WILL PULL THE CONVERGENCE BAND SOUTHWARD ONTO THE SAMOAN ISLANDS BEGINNING THURSDAY AND THROUGH THE PERIOD. THIS SPELLS A WET SCENARIO OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS. THE NOGAPS LEAVES ONLY A SURFACE TROUGH ACROSS SAMOA BUT ALSO MOVES THE CONVERGENCE ONTO YOU. WINDS BECOMING NORTHEAST 10 MPH THURSDAY AND MAY INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 MPH OR HIGHER IF THE LOW DEVELOPS AS FORECAST BY THE GFS. NARRATIVE DISCUSSION FOR TUVALU TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...TUVALU TIME... THERE ARE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ABOUT 50 NM WEST OF FUNAFUTI BUT ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS ACROSS YOUR ISLANDS. COMPUTER MODELS INDICATE A CONTINUATION OF THE WET WESTERLY FLOW AS THE LOW ABOUT 300 NM SOUTH MOVES SLOWLY EAST. AS MENTIONED ABOVE COMPUTER MODELS DISAGREE ON ITS PLACEMENT OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THEREFORE CONTINUED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED HEAVY SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. WEST WINDS 15 MPH WEDNESDAY BECOMING SOUTHWEST THURSDAY.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, West Hawaii Including Leeward Kohala and Kona
- When
- December 29, 8:00 PM HST to December 30, 10:00 AM HST
- Where
- West Hawaii Including Leeward Kohala and Kona forecast zone
- Measured
- 75 kt (86 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Weather in Colorado, December 29 to 30, 2003
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Nevada, December 29 to 30, 2003
- Strong Wind in California, December 29, 2003
- Winter Weather in Colorado, December 29 to 30, 2003
- Winter Storm in California, December 29 to 30, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 29 to 30, 2003
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 29 to 31, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 29, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 29 to 30, 2003
- High Wind in Nevada, December 29, 2003
- High Wind in Nevada, December 29, 2003
- Flash Flood in California, December 29, 2003
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5328008, 5328009.