Waterspout in Hawaiian Waters, March 29, 2003

Name: Waterspout in Hawaiian Waters, March 29, 2003
Start: 2003-03-29T14:30
End: 2003-03-29T15:30
Location: Hawaiian Waters

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

Two or three waterspouts were spotted by an airplane pilot in the Kalohi Channel just south of Molokai. He did not specify the exact number or in which direction they were moving.

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.

Two or three waterspouts were spotted by an airplane pilot in the Kalohi Channel just south of Molokai. He did not specify the exact number or in which direction they were moving. The waterspouts did not disrupt air traffic, and there were no reports that they caused any injuries or property damage.

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 29, 2:29 PM HST, 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 29, 2:29 PM HST, 1 minute before

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Event by event

1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.

Waterspout, Channels Between the Islands

When: March 29, 2:30 PM HST to 3:30 PM HST
Where: Channels Between the Islands marine zone, 2 mi SE of Kaunakakai
Reported by: AIRPLANE PILOT

What these are

Waterspout: A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Hawaiian Waters in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5329318.