Name: Flash Flood in Hawaii, December 7, 2003
Start: 2003-12-07T13:00
End: 2003-12-07T20:30
Location: Hawaii

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 rain caused the Waikane Stream to overflow its banks and flood Kamehameha Highway between Kaaawa and Kahaluu, on the windward side of Oahu. Other flooding occurred on the isle, with ground floors of some homes being inundated with overflow from nearby streams. This was especially the case in central and windward areas, from Mililani to Kaneohe. No serious injuries were reported. Property damage estimates were not available.

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 7, 10:40 AM HST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 7, 10:40 AM HST, 2 hours 20 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1040 AM HST SUN DEC 7 2003

.SYNOPSIS...THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS UNSTABLE...WHICH MEANS THERE IS
THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND EVEN A THUNDERSTORM OR TWO
TODAY. THE TRADE WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN MONDAY WHEN HIGH PRESSURE
MOVES NORTH OF THE STATE.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
NO CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS THINKING. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WEST OF KAUAI
IS STILL CAUSING THE AIRMASS OVER THE ISLANDS TO BE UNSTABLE. THE
RESULT BEING ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER WATER THIS MORNING. HEAVY
SHOWERS AND PERHAPS A THUNDERSTORM OR TWO IS EXPECTED WITH THIS
AFTERNOONS WARM TEMPERATURES. COOLER TEMPERATURES OVER LAND WILL
RESULT IN THE DEMISE OF THE CONVECTION TONIGHT...BUT THE HEAVY STUFF
SHOULD CONTINUE OVER THE WARM OCEAN WATERS. THE LOW IS FORECAST TO
LIFT OUT TO THE NORTHEAST...LEAVING BEHIND WARMER TEMPERATURES ALOFT
AND A MORE STABLE ATMOSPHERE TOMORROW. AT THE SURFACE...A HIGH
CROSSING THE DATELINE NEAR 35N WILL MOVE NORTH THEN NORTHEAST OF THE
STATE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. THE TRADES WILL PICK UP IN THE
TIGHTER PRESSURE GRADIENT SOUTH OF THE HIGH.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE

&&

CRAIG

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Honolulu

When: December 7, 1:00 PM HST to 8:30 PM HST
Where: Honolulu County, 3 mi N of Kahaluu
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

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: 5327912.