Thunderstorm Wind, Kauai
- When
- January 24, 12:00 PM HST to 12:05 PM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, 1 mi W of Koloa
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Damaging Wind in Hawaii, January 24, 2003
A thunderstorm with gusty winds knocked down a tree and blew some shingles off a roof in an area west of Koloa on Kauai. No damage estimates were available, however.
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.
A thunderstorm with gusty winds knocked down a tree and blew some shingles off a roof in an area west of Koloa on Kauai. No damage estimates were available, however. 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 Jan 24, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 24, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 10 AM HST FRI JAN 24 2003 SUMMARY...A SERIES OF SHOWER BANDS AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT WILL AFFECT THE STATE AS THE FRONT...CO-LOCATED WITH THE TRAILING SHOWER BAND...MOVES SOUTHEAST TOWARDS THE BIG ISLAND TODAY AND SATURDAY. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE EMBEDDED WITH THESE SHOWER BANDS...BUT DRY AND COOL AIR...AND LIGHTER WINDS...WILL FOLLOW BEHIND THE FRONT. DISCUSSION...THE COLD FRONTAL SYSTEM NOW AFFECTING THE WESTERN ISLANDS IS RATHER COMPLEX IN STRUCTURE...BUT SIMPLE IN ITS MANIFESTATION ON THE GROUND. RIGHT NOW...THE CONVECTIVE CLOUD BAND REPRESENTING THE COLD FRONT IS ABOUT 300 MILES NORTHWEST OF KAUAI AND IS EXPECTED TO REACH THAT ISLAND LATER TODAY. TWO CONVERGENCE BANDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT ARE SPREADING CLOUDS AND SHOWERS OVER KAUAI AND...TO A LESSER EXTENT...OVER MAUI. HOWEVER...CLOUD COVER IS INCREASING STATEWIDE IN GENERAL AS THE ATMOSPHERE DESTABILIZES. A CORRELATION OF SURFACE OBSERVATIONS WITH SATELLITE FEATURES SHOWS THE SURFACE COLD FRONT IS ACTUALLY FURTHER WEST THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. MODELS SHOW THE COLD FRONT PASSING SOUTHEAST BEYOND THE BIG ISLAND BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE PARENT LOW FAR NORTH OF THE STATE IS LIFTING OUT TO THE NORTH RAPIDLY...TAKING MOST OF THE FRONTAL DYNAMICS WITH IT. AS A RESULT...THE BIG ISLAND MAY SEE NOTHING MORE THAN A GRADUAL WIND SHIFT OVERNIGHT AND INTO SATURDAY WITH LITTLE INCREASE IN CLOUD COVER OR PRECIPITATION. SOUTHWEST WINDS AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT ARE STRONG AND GUSTY. WIND GUSTS OF 46 MPH WERE NOTED AT THE LIHUE AIRPORT...AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS MAY SEE GUSTS AT LEAST THIS HIGH. A WIND ADVISORY IS OUT FOR ALL OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS DUE TO THE IMMINENT THREAT OF 30 TO 40 MPH SUSTAINED WINDS IN EXPOSED PLACES. A HIGH WIND WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR KAUAI AND OAHU FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR HIGHER GUSTS IN EXPOSED AREAS ON THOSE ISLANDS. SATELLITE LOOPS INDICATE WINDS ARE LIGHTER BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. THE FOLLOWING HIGH WILL BE FAR TO THE NORTHEAST OF HAWAII...SO WINDS WILL REMAIN FROM THE EAST ONLY FOR A SHORT WHILE BEFORE VEERING TO THE SOUTHEAST MONDAY IN THE FACE OF ANOTHER APPROACHING COLD FRONT. THIS FRONT IS EXPECTED TO REACH KAUAI LATE NEXT WEDNESDAY. POWELL .HFO...WATCHES......HIGH WIND FOR KAUAI AND OAHU . WARNINGS.....NONE . ADVISORIES...SMALL CRAFT FOR NW SWELL . HIGH SURF NW SHORES . WIND ALL ISLANDS
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Thunderstorm Wind
- Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Extreme Cold in Alabama, January 24 to 25, 2003
- Extreme Cold in Florida, January 24, 2003
- Cold in Mississippi, January 24, 2003
- Extreme Cold in Florida, January 24 to 25, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 24 to 27, 2003
- Cold in Florida, January 24, 2003
- High Surf in Hawaii, January 24 to 26, 2003
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, January 24, 2003
- Dense Fog in Nevada, January 24, 2003
- Dense Fog in California, January 24, 2003
- Flood in New York, January 24, 2003
- Waterspout in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, January 24, 2003
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 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: 5328549.