High Surf in Hawaii, June 17 to 19, 2003

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, June 17 to 19, 2003
Start: 2003-06-17T13:00
End: 2003-06-19T12:00
Location: Hawaii

June 17 to 19, 2003 · NWS HFO · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 3
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 deep storm low east of New Zealand generated surf of 6 to 16 feet along the south-facing shores of all the islands. The unusually high surf for the south shores of the isles kept lifeguards busy, especially on the 18th of June and mainly on Oahu at Ala Moana Beach Park and Waikiki. The lifeguards rescued around 400 swimmers and surfers, and assisted nearly 800 more. More than 100 surfers had their boards broken by the pounding waves. A small boat was overturned by the high waves as it left the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, and four people were thrown overboard. All were rescued by the Coast Guard, with one man sustaining minor injuries. The boat harbor was later closed for the rest of the afternoon. Two other individuals were hurt, one on Oahu and the other on Maui. The person on Maui sustained a spinal injury, though its seriousness was not known. No serious property damage was 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 Jun 17, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 17, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
10 AM HST TUE JUN 17 2003

SUMMARY...TRADE WINDS TO STRENGTHEN TOMORROW...ITS SHOWERS
CONTINUING TO BE SPORADIC.

DISCUSSION...MODELS REMAIN ON MESSAGE IN THEIR PROJECTIONS...THE
RIDGE AND ITS TRADE WIND BELT BOTH STRENGTHENING OVER THE NEXT 24
HOURS. ALTHO THERE ARE NO SIGNIFICANT UPPER LEVEL TROUGHS TO WEAKEN
TEMPERATURE INVERSIONS AND FURTHER ENHANCE CURRENT RAINFALL THE
INCOMING TRADE CLOUDS ARE OPEN CELLULAR..OR SHOWER BEARING..AND
WILL BE GIVING FRACTIONAL SHOWER AMOUNTS OF LESS THAN AN INCH.
CURRENTLY THERE IS A SCATTERED SHOWER BAND NOW PASSING OVER OAHU AND
MAUI COUNTY MAKING ITS WAY TO KAUAI. ANOTHER IS JUST EAST OF HILO
AND SHOULD BE ARRIVING THERE BY NOON. THE SHOWER PATTERN WILL
CONTINUE TO FAVOR MAUKA AND WINDWARD REGIONS BUT HAVE LITTLE RESPECT
FOR TIME OF DAY. TOMORROWS INCREASED TRADE WIND SPEEDS AND INCREASED
CLOUDS FARTHER UPSTREAM SUGGEST A SLIGHT INCREASE IN FUTURE
RAINFALL.  MATSUDA

.HFO...WARNINGS...WATCHES...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

8 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Kauai

When: June 17, 1:00 PM HST to June 19, 12:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Lanai

When: June 17, 1:00 PM HST to June 19, 12:00 PM HST
Where: Lanai forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Maui

When: June 17, 1:00 PM HST to June 19, 12:00 PM HST
Where: Maui forecast zone
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Molokai

When: June 17, 1:00 PM HST to June 19, 12:00 PM HST
Where: Molokai forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, North and East Hawaii Including Windward Kohala / Hamakua / Hilo / Puna

When: June 17, 1:00 PM HST to June 19, 12:00 PM HST
Where: North and East Hawaii Including Windward Kohala / Hamakua / Hilo / Puna forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Oahu

When: June 17, 1:00 PM HST to June 19, 12:00 PM HST
Where: Oahu forecast zone
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, South Hawaii Including Kau

When: June 17, 1:00 PM HST to June 19, 12:00 PM HST
Where: South Hawaii Including Kau forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, West Hawaii Including Leeward Kohala and Kona

When: June 17, 1:00 PM HST to June 19, 12:00 PM HST
Where: West Hawaii Including Leeward Kohala and Kona forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Surf: Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Hawaii in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, June 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: 5327608, 5327609, 5327610, 5327611, 5327612, 5327613, 5327694, 5327695.