Flash Flood in Hawaii, November 29, 2003

Name: Flash Flood in Hawaii, November 29, 2003
Start: 2003-11-29T13:35
End: 2003-11-29T15:15
Location: Hawaii

November 29, 2003 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy showers produced flash flooding in windward sections of Oahu. The fire department reported several areas of flooding, and the Waikane Stream overflowed onto Kamehameha Highway.

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.

Heavy showers produced flash flooding in windward sections of Oahu. The fire department reported several areas of flooding, and the Waikane Stream overflowed onto Kamehameha Highway. There were no reports of serious injuries, however. Property damage costs were not available.

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 29, 9:45 AM HST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 29, 9:45 AM HST, 3 hours 50 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
945 AM HST SAT NOV 29 2003

.SYNOPSIS...A SHEARLINE WILL PASS ACROSS THE STATE TODAY...SPREADING
CLOUDS AND SHOWERS OVER MOST SECTIONS OF THE ISLANDS. RAINFALL WILL
FAVOR WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS AND MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES TODAY.
GUSTY WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH SHEARLINE PASSAGE WILL DECREASE TO
MODERATE TRADES SUNDAY AND THEREAFTER.

&&

.DISCUSSION...SATELLITE AND RADAR SHOWING SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH
THE SHEARLINE ITSELF ARE STARTING TO AFFECT WINDWARD SHORES. THERE
ALSO HAVE BEEN SOME HEAVY SHOWERS ANCHORED OVER THE EAST END OF MAUI
SINCE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. HAVE HAD AN URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOOD
ADVISORY /USSFA/ FOR THAT AREA THIS MORNING...BUT WILL PROBABLY BE
DROPPING THIS AT 10 AM AS SHOWERS HAVE DIMINISHED A BIT THERE.

THE 850 MB WINDS ARE TAKING THE SHOWERS ONTO EAST AND SOUTHEAST
FACING SECTIONS OF THE ISLANDS THIS MORNING...AND BASED ON
SATELLITE AND THE SHORT RANGE MODELS...THAT SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH
MUCH OF THE DAY. WEST SIDES WILL BE SHIELDED SOMEWHAT...AND WILL
PROBABLY REDUCE SHOWER COVERAGE FOR SOME LEEWARD SECTIONS FOR THIS
AFTERNOON IN AN UPDATE.

FORECAST THINKING HAS NOT CHANGED OTHERWISE. THE SHEARLINE SHOULD
KEEP THE ISLANDS FAIRLY WET TONIGHT...ESPECIALLY WINDWARD AND MAUKA
SECTIONS. THE UPPER LEVELS DO NOT APPEAR TO BE QUITE AS SUPPORTIVE
FOR LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS AS THEY WERE YESTERDAY...BUT WITH ABUNDANT
MOISTURE AND WEAK SHORTWAVES COMING AT US FROM THE SOUTHWEST...
CANNOT RULE OUT A FEW SPOTS GETTING A GOOD DRENCHING. A GRADUAL
DECREASE IN MOISTURE IS AGREED UPON BY ALL AVAILABLE MODELS  ON
SUNDAY...SO THE FORECAST WILL CONTINUE TO TREND DRIER.

THE MAIN QUESTION IN THE LONGER RANGE CONTINUES TO BE THE PATTERN
OVER THE ISLANDS TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. SOME OF THE MODELS ARE
SUGGESTING AN INVERTED TROUGH OR LOW MAY DEVELOP NEAR OR JUST WEST
OF THE ISLANDS...WHILE OTHERS ARE MORE AGGRESSIVE RETURNING MODERATE
TRADES TO THE ISLANDS. WILL NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES NOW...BUT WILL
INVESTIGATE THE NEED FOR A WETTER FORECAST ON THOSE DAYS.

&&

.MARINE...SURF HEIGHTS APPEAR TO BE PEAKING AND SHOULD CONTINUE AT
CURRENT LEVELS THROUGH TODAY...THEN DIMINISHING SUNDAY. SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORY WILL CONTINUE FOR THE LARGE SWELL...AND ALSO WILL MAINTAIN
CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS BOTH FOR HARBOR SURGES ON NORTH FACING
SHORES...AND IN ANTICIPATION OF INCREASING WINDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
SHEARLINE AND THE ENHANCED PRESSURE GRADIENT THAT WILL FOLLOW.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF WARNING FOR EAST FACING SHORES.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR NORTH FACING SHORES.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS

&&

R BALLARD

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, Honolulu

When: November 29, 1:35 PM HST to 3:15 PM HST
Where: Honolulu County, Hauula
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (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: 5327896.