Heavy Rain, Kauai
- When
- March 30, 12:55 PM HST to 2:55 PM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, Kapaa
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 30, 2003
Heavy showers and rain caused stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding of roadways in eastern and southern parts of Kauai. However, no serious property damage or injuries 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
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 showers and rain caused stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding of roadways in eastern and southern parts of Kauai. However, no serious property damage or injuries 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 Mar 30, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 30, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 55 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION AND GUIDANCE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 10 AM HST SUN MAR 30 2003 SUMMARY...A KONA LOW 800 MILES OR SO NORTHWEST OF KAUAI WILL KEEP UNSETTLED WEATHER OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. MOIST SOUTH AND SOUTHEASTERLY WIND FLOW ACROSS THE STATE MAKES CONDITIONS RIPE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY OVER KAUAI...WITH LESS SHOWERS EASTWARD. SATELLITE...OVERCAST MULTI-LAYERED CLOUDS...SHOWERS AND EMBEDDED ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS COVERED MOST OF KAUAI AND THE KAUAI CHANNEL. SCATTERED TO BROKEN LOW AND MIDDLE LEVEL CLOUDS WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS WERE ACROSS MOST OF OAHU AND THE CENTRAL ISLANDS. THERE WERE SCATTERED TO LOCALLY BROKEN LOW CLOUDS IN THE VICINITY OF THE BIG ISLAND. THERE WERE WISPS OF CIRRUS ACROSS THE ENTIRE ISLAND CHAIN. THE WIDESPREAD CLOUDINESS AND SHOWERS WERE PARTIALLY BEING PRODUCED BY A SURFACE TROUGH NEAR KAUAI. AN UPPER LEVEL AND SURFACE LOW NORTHWEST OF THE STATE...AS WELL AS A FRONT WEST OF KAUAI...WERE ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THE INSTABILITY OCCURRING ACROSS THE ALOHA STATE THIS MORNING. INDIVIDUAL LOW CLOUD ELEMENTS WERE GENERALLY MOVING AT 15 TO 20 MPH FROM THE SOUTH SOUTHEAST. DISCUSSION...CONVERGENT SOUTH TO SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW REMAINS ACROSS THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THIS MORNING...KEEPING THE AIRMASS MOIST. A REMNANT FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS NOW IN THE KAUAI CHANNEL...AND CONTINUES TO CREEP WESTWARD. HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITHIN 35 MILES EITHER SIDE OF THIS BAND CONTINUE TO AFFECT KAUAI AND THE KAUAI CHANNEL. A KONA LOW NOW SOME 900 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF LIHUE HAS ANOTHER FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING SOUTHWARD WHICH IS ABOUT 200 MILES WEST OF KAUAI. THE FRONT CONSISTS OF BANDS OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS RIPPLING EASTWARD FROM THE BOUNDARY. FORECAST MODELS NOW SUGGEST THESE BANDS MAY REACH KAUAI TODAY AND TONIGHT...BUT SHOULD NOT MOVE MUCH BEYOND THE GARDEN ISLE TO AFFECT THE OTHER ISLANDS. THUS THE FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN KEPT UP FOR KAUAI...BUT CANCELLED FOR THE OTHER ISLANDS. MEANWHILE...WITH INSTABILITY HIGH AND THE MOIST LAYER DEEP ALL ACROSS THE STATE...AFTERNOON HEATING ALONG WITH TOPOGRAPHICAL LIFT MAY RESULT IN SOME THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ON ALL ISLANDS TODAY. THIS THREAT WILL BE DIMINISHING OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS THE KONA LOW SLOWLY RETREATS NORTHWARD AND ITS DESTABILIZING INFLUENCE WEAKENS OVER THE STATE. FARRELL .HFO...WATCHES......FLOOD FOR KAUAI...CANCELLED ELSEWHERE 8AM HST . WARNINGS.....NONE . ADVISORIES...NONE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, March 30, 2003
- Strong Wind in Georgia, March 30, 2003
- Winter Storm in Vermont, March 30 to 31, 2003
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, March 30, 2003
- Winter Storm in New York, March 30 to 31, 2003
- Heavy Snow in New York, March 30, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Virginia, March 30, 2003
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 30 to 31, 2003
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 30, 2003
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in West Virginia, March 30, 2003
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, March 30, 2003
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 30, 2003
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 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: 5329320.