Waterspout in Hawaiian Waters, September 5, 2003

Name: Waterspout in Hawaiian Waters, September 5, 2003
Start: 2003-09-05T07:25
End: 2003-09-05T07:45
Location: Hawaiian Waters

September 5, 2003 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A weather spotter on the Big Island of Hawaii sighted a waterspout off the Kona coast. No serious property damage or injuries were reported.

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.

A weather spotter on the Big Island of Hawaii sighted a waterspout off the Kona coast. 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 Sep 5, 6:09 AM HST, 1 hour 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 5, 6:09 AM HST, 1 hour 16 minutes before

CORRECTION FOR TUVALU LARGE SURF

NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE INDEPENDENT
STATE OF SAMOA

TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY...
SATELLITE SHOWS THE AREA OF CLOUDINESS OVER SAMOA CONTINUING TO
DECREASE IN COVERAGE EARLY THIS MORNING. THERE ARE STILL SCATTERED
SHOWER BEARING CLOUDS EVIDENT IN SATELLITE IMAGERY MAINLY NORTH OF
SAMOA.

THE MODELS INDICATE LITTLE CHANGE IN THE SYNOPTIC CONFIGURATION
THROUGH SATURDAY...THOUGH A WEAK SURFACE RIDGE DOES GET ESTABLISHED
ALONG 22S OR SO. THE FLOW AROUND SAMOA WILL BECOME LESS CONVERGENT
WITH TIME...AND MOST OF THE MOISTURE AREAS BROUGHT IN ON THE
EASTERLIES APPEAR AS THOUGH THEY WILL PASS NORTH OF SAMOA. OVERALL
IT APPEARS SKIES WILL BE PARTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS. THERE
IS A CHANCE FOR A BRIEF HEAVY SHOWER THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN OF THE LARGER ISLANDS. THE MODELS SHOW A SHEARLINE
APPROACHING SAMOA ON SATURDAY IN THE 1000 MB VORTICITY FIELDS...BUT
THE ASSOCIATED MOISTURE LAGS TO THE SOUTH AND DOES NOT APPEAR TO
AFFECT SAMOA DURING THIS PERIOD.

EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 KNOTS TODAY AND TONIGHT WITH LOCAL SEA AND LAND
BREEZES...BECOMING EAST 5 TO 15 KNOTS SATURDAY. FORERUNNERS OF A
LONG PERIOD SOUTHWEST SWELL WILL ARRIVE SATURDAY EVENING.

OUTLOOK FOR SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...
MODELS CONTINUE TO DO A REASONABLE JOB INITIALIZING THE DEEPER
MOISTURE AND CONVECTION BETWEEN 09S AND 05S FROM 150W TO 159W. THE
GFS...NOGAPS...AND UKMET ALL STILL SHOW THIS AREA GETTING TO SAMOA
EARLY SUNDAY...WITH INCREASED SHOWER COVERAGE. THE MODELS INDICATE
SOME DRIER AIR MAY TRY TO RETURN FOR MONDAY AND TUESDAY BUT OVERALL
TRENDING TOWARD CLIMATOLOGY. A SERIES OF EXTRATROPICAL LOWS PASSING
WELL SOUTH OF SAMOA WILL KEEP THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE RATHER
WEAK...THUS EAST WINDS OF 5 TO 15 KNOTS EXPECTED.

THE WAVEWATCH III MODEL SHOWS THE AFOREMENTIONED SOUTHWEST SWELL
BUILDING TO TO NEAR 8 FEET SUNDAY MORNING.

NARRATIVE DISCUSSION FOR TUVALU

TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY...TUVALU TIME...

...HIGH SURF BEGINNING SUNDAY...

A RELATIVELY DRY AIRMASS CONTINUES TO ADVECT IN FROM THE EAST.
SYNOPTIC OBSERVATIONS FROM AROUND TUVALU INDICATED WEAKLY CONVERGENT
FLOW ACROSS THE GROUP...AND A COUPLE BANDS OF SCATTERED SHOWERS HAVE
FORMED IN RESPONSE. IT APPEARS THAT NOGAPS INITIALIZED THE BEST.
ALL MODELS SHOW THE SURFACE FLOW REMAINING FROM THE SOUTHEAST
THROUGH THIS PERIOD AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS. WITH SUCH LIMITED MOISTURE
AVAILABLE...PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND WIDELY SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE
EXPECTED TO CONTINUE...BUT DEEP CONVECTION DOES NOT APPEAR LIKELY.

A LARGE SOUTH SOUTHWEST SWELL FROM THE TASMAN SEA IS EXPECTED TO
BEGIN REACHING FUNAFUTI SUNDAY AS AN 8 FOOT SWELL. IT WILL
CONTINUE INTO MONDAY THEN DECREASE TUESDAY.
R BALLARD/JH

Event by event

1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.

Waterspout, Channels Between the Islands

When: September 5, 7:25 AM HST to 7:45 AM HST
Where: Channels Between the Islands marine zone, 1 mi SW of Kailua Kona
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5327726.