Heavy Rain, Honolulu
- When
- December 31, 4:05 AM HST to 7:00 AM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, Countywide
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, December 31, 2003
Heavy showers produced minor stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding of roadways over the island of Oahu. However, 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
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 produced minor stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding of roadways over the island of Oahu. However, 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 Dec 31, 4:00 AM HST, 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 4:00 AM HST, 5 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 4 AM HST WED DEC 31 2003 .SYNOPSIS... SHOWERS HAVE AGAIN DEVELOPED LOCALLY THIS MORNING. THE UNSTABLE CONDITIONS PRODUCING THESE OCCASIONAL DOWNPOURS WILL BE EASING TONIGHT BUT STILL BE WITH US THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK END. && .DISCUSSION... TODAY SHOULD SEE THE PESKY LOW SOUTHWEST OF KAUAI WEAKEN AND BEGIN TO MOVE OFF TO THE NORTHEAST. BUT IT WILL STILL PRODUCE ITS RAIN AND SOME LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWER SHOWERS TODAY...MAINLY ON OAHU THIS EARLY MORNING. THE OCCASIONAL PERIODS OF RAIN ARE EXPECTED TO DIMINISH TONIGHT AND TOMORROW AS THE LOW DISSIPATES AND DEPARTS. HOWEVER MORE LOW PRESSURE TROUGHING NUDGING IN FROM THE WEST WILL SUSTAIN MUCH OF THE INSTABILITY AND OCASSIONAL WET CONDITIONS INTO THE WEEK END. THE GOOD NEWS...THE TROUGH WITH A WEAK FRONT IS EXPECTED TO CLEAR TO THE EAST ON SUNDAY RETURNING FINE WEATHER TO THE STATE THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WATCH...BIG ISLAND SUMMITS HIGH SURF ADVISORY...EAST FACING SHORES ALL ISLANDS && MATSUDA
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
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
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: 5328011.