Funnel Cloud, Maui
- When
- February 13, 11:20 AM HST to 12:00 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 3 mi W of Lahaina
- Reported by
- AIRPLANE PILOT
- Coordinates
- 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud in Hawaii, February 13, 2003
An airplane pilot spotted a funnel cloud offshore from Lahaina, West Maui, during the late morning of the 13th. The funnel cloud was moving north paralleling the shoreline.
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.
An airplane pilot spotted a funnel cloud offshore from Lahaina, West Maui, during the late morning of the 13th. The funnel cloud was moving north paralleling the shoreline. The feature apparently dissipated without incident.
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 Feb 13, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 13, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour 20 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 10 AM HST THU FEB 13 2003 SUMMARY...A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS IS LOCATED OVER THE WESTERN ISLANDS OF KAUAI AND OAHU. SOME ISOLATED HEAVY SHOWERS ARE LOCATED WITHIN THIS AIR MASS. A SHEARLINE OR FRONT WITH A WAVE ON IT IS LOCATED TO THE NORTHWEST OF KAUAI IS FORECAST. IT IS FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE ISLAND CHAIN LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT BRINGING MORE SHOWERS AND USHERING IN STRONGER TRADE WINDS. DISCUSSION...AN INVERTED TROUGH IN THE SURFACE EASTERLIES IS LOCATED OVER THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. WINDS WITHIN THIS TROUGHY REGION ARE QUITE LIGHT BEING MAINLY OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST. SOME SHOWERS NEAR MOLOKAI AND OAHU CAN ACTUALLY BE TRACED BACK TO THE BIG ISLAND PLUME CURVING NORTHWEST AND NORTHWARD ACROSS OUR REGION. THE FRONT OR SHEARLINE TO THE WEST OF THE ISLANDS HAS DEVELOPED A WAVE ON IT AND AS SUCH IS NO MORE A TRUE SHEARLINE. IT IS HOWEVER DIFFICULT TO FIND ANY CLOSED LOW PRESSURE CIRCULATION IN THE VICINITY OF THE WAVE ON THE FRONT. LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR A WHILE WITH MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY QUITE PROMINENT IN THE AREA JUST WEST OF KAUAI AND NIIHAU. THE WAVE ON THE FRONT IS SLOWLY MOVING EASTWARD AND SHOULD SPREAD SOME SHOWERS INTO THE CHAIN FROM THE WEST. INSTABILITY IS STRONG ENOUGH SO THAT ISOLATED CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS OR THUNDERSTORMS COULD FORM WITH HEAVY RAINFALLS POSSIBLE. THE GREATEST THREAT OF HEAVY SHOWERS WOULD BE TODAY...TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. JUDGING BY THE VORTICITY FIELD AT 500 HPA THE FRONTAL WAVE SHOULD ALREADY HAVE MOVED PAST THE BIG ISLAND LATER ON FRIDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS NEAR 30N AT 1024 HPA FOR A DAY OR TWO OF MODERATE TRADES OVER THE WEEKEND. LIGHTER TRADES ARE THEN INDICATED FOR MONDAY WHEN A NEW FRONT OR SHEARLINE ENTERS OUR AREA FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER HIGH PRESSURE CELL BOOSTING THE TRADES ONCE AGAIN. .HFO...WATCHES......NONE . WARNINGS.....NONE . ADVISORIES...NONE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in North Dakota, February 13, 2003
- Heavy Rain in California, February 13, 2003
- Winter Storm in New Mexico, February 13 to 23, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 13, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Arizona, February 13 to 14, 2003
- Heavy Rain in California, February 13, 2003
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, February 13, 2003
- Funnel Cloud in California, February 13, 2003
- High Wind in Virginia, February 13, 2003
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, February 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: 5328889.