Flash Flood in Hawaii, November 28, 2003

Name: Flash Flood in Hawaii, November 28, 2003
Start: 2003-11-28T21:10
End: 2003-11-28T22:35
Location: Hawaii

November 28, 2003 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

96 feet in the later evening hours on the 28th. This indicated that flash flooding was likely occurring in eastern parts of the isle.

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

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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.

The gauge at Oheo Gulch on the island of Maui showed a peak stage of 7.96 feet in the later evening hours on the 28th. This indicated that flash flooding was likely occurring in eastern parts of the isle. 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 Nov 28, 8:30 PM HST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 28, 8:30 PM HST, 40 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST FRI NOV 28 2003

.SYNOPSIS...A DISSIPATING COLD FRONT WILL PASS ACROSS THE ISLANDS
ON SATURDAY. THIS FRONT WILL BRING SHOWERY WEATHER TO THE STATE...
ESPECIALLY ON THE WINDWARD SIDES. DRIER CONDITIONS WILL RETURN
BEHIND THE FRONT ON SUNDAY...WITH MODERATE TRADE WINDS EXPECTED WELL
INTO NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...A 1039 MB HIGH FAR NORTH OF HAWAII IS MOVING
SOUTHEASTWARD...PUSHING A WEAKENING COLD FRONT AHEAD OF AND
SOUTHWEST OF IT. MODELS AND SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW THIS FRONT WILL
REACH HAWAII ON SATURDAY...BRINGING A BOUT OF CLOUDS...SHOWERS AND
STRONGER TRADE WINDS. RAINFALL WILL FAVOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS
OF THE ISLANDS AS THE FRONT PASSES...BUT PORTIONS OF LEEWARD AREAS
WILL GET WET AS WELL. DRIER CONDITIONS AND CLEARER SKIES WILL MOVE
IN THROUGH THE DAY SUNDAY.

WET TRADES RETURNED TO THE ISLANDS TODAY. AFTERNOON SOUNDINGS SHOW
CONDITIONS ARE RATHER UNSTABLE AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING FRONT ACROSS
THE ISLANDS...WITH K INDICES IN THE MID 20S AND BETWEEN 1.5 AND 1.8
INCHES OF PRECIPITABLE WATER AVAILABLE FOR RAINFALL. SATELLITE AND
RADAR SHOWS HEAVY SHOWERS AFFECTING PORTIONS OF WINDWARD MAUI THIS
EVENING...WITH NARROW BANDS OF SHOWERS MOVING WESTWARD WITHIN
COASTAL WATERS EAST OF MOLOKAI.

MODELS SHOW WEAK TO MODERATE RIDGING NORTH OF THE ISLANDS WILL LAST
THROUGH THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. CENTERS OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL MOVE
THROUGH THE RIDGE...BUT THESE WILL WEAKEN AND FLATTEN OUT BEFORE
BUMPING OUR TRADES STRONGER THAN THE MODERATE RANGE.

SO...IN SHORT...EXPECT WET CONDITIONS TO SPREAD WESTWARD TONIGHT
THROUGH SATURDAY WITH STRONGER WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH FRONTAL
PASSAGE...FOLLOWED BY DRIER AND CLEARER CONDITIONS SUNDAY WITH
CONTINUED MODERATE TRADES.

&&

.MARINE...SURF OBSERVATIONS SHOW THE NORTHERLY SWELL CONTINUING TO
BUILD. THE FETCH IS EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE NORTHEASTERLY WITH
TIME...WITH WARNING LEVEL SURF ON THE EAST SHORES...AND ADVISORY
LEVEL SURF ON THE NORTH SHORES. THE WAVEWATCH III MODEL SUGGESTS
SURF WILL BE IN THE 16 TO 22 FOOT RANGE.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF WARNING FOR EAST FACING SHORES TONIGHT AND SATURDAY.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR NORTH FACING SHORES TONIGHT AND SATURDAY.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS
URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR EAST MAUI THIS EVENING.

&&

POWELL

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Maui

When: November 28, 9:10 PM HST to 10:35 PM HST
Where: Maui County, Keanae
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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, November 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: 5327895.