Hawaii, 2003

Heavy Rain in Hawaii, February 14, 2003

February 14, 2003 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Shear line showers and rain produced minor stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding of roadways, throughout Molokai, Lanai, and windward sections of Maui. However, no serious injuries or property damage were reported.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

Shear line showers and rain produced minor stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding of roadways, throughout Molokai, Lanai, and windward sections of Maui. However, no serious injuries or property damage were reported.

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, 8:30 PM HST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 13, 8:30 PM HST, 5 hours 30 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST THU FEB 13 2003

SUMMARY...A BAND OF SHOWERS OVER THE WESTERN ISLANDS WILL MOVE
SOUTHEASTWARD THROUGH FRIDAY...SPREADING WET WEATHER TO THE REST OF
THE ISLAND CHAIN. SHOWERS MAY BE LOCALLY HEAVY AT TIMES. A CLAP OF
THUNDER IS ALSO POSSIBLE. TRADE WINDS WILL INCREASE AFTER THE BAND
OF SHOWERS PASSES.

DISCUSSION...TRADE WINDS CONTINUE TO BLOW ACROSS THE MAIN HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS THIS EVENING...BUT THEY ARE WEAK OVER THE EASTERN AND
CENTRAL ISLANDS DUE TO THE SURFACE TROUGH ASSOCIATED WITH A SHOWERY
CLOUD BAND OVER THE WESTERN ISLANDS THIS EVENING. TWO WEATHER
FEATURES ARE AT WORK THIS HOUR. THE SHEARLINE OVER KAUAI AND OAHU
WILL MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD TOWARDS THE BIG ISLAND THROUGH
FRIDAY...SPREADING CLOUDS AND SHOWERS AS IT GOES. AT THE SAME
TIME...A 1025 MB HIGH PRESSURE CELL IS MOVING EASTWARD ALONG 30N TO
THE NORTH OF THE ALOHA STATE. THIS HIGH IS JUST STRONG ENOUGH TO
KEEP THE TRADES BLOWING. AFTER THE TROUGH PASSES...TRADE WINDS ARE
EXPECTED TO INCREASE INTO THE 15 TO 25 MPH RANGE BEFORE SETTLING
DOWN TO A MODERATE 10 TO 20 MPH LATER THIS WEEKEND.

THE SURFACE TROUGH HAS DESTABILIZED THE ATMOSPHERE SUFFICIENTLY FOR
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO FORM OVER THE KAUAI CHANNEL THIS
EVENING...ALONG WITH AREAS OF HEAVY SHOWERS. RADAR LOOP INDICATES
THAT BRIEF HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN
POSSIBLE OVER OAHU AND MOLOKAI TONIGHT AND TOMORROW.

A SHEARLINE WILL APPROACH THE STATE FROM THE NORTHWEST ON
WASHINGTONS BIRTHDAY...CAUSING WINDS TO TURN SOUTHEASTERLY ACROSS
THE WESTERN ISLANDS AND WEAKEN THE TRADES ELSEWHERE. HOWEVER...THE
STORM TRACK IN THE MID-LATITUDES HAS SHIFTED A BIT NORTH OVER THE
PAST WEEK...JUST ENOUGH TO KEEP THE ADVERSE WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH
THIS SHEARLINE AWAY TO OUR NORTH. THIS NEXT SHEARLINE IS EXPECTED
TO LIFT OUT TO THE NORTH BY NEXT TUESDAY...ALLOWING THE SUBTROPICAL
RIDGE TO SLIDE WESTWARD BENEATH IT AND INCREASE TRADE WINDS ONCE
AGAIN.

POWELL

.HFO...WATCHES......NONE
.      WARNINGS.....NONE
.      ADVISORIES...NONE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Maui

When
February 14, 2:00 AM HST to 11:00 AM HST
Where
Maui County, Maunaloa
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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, 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: 5328892.