Name: High Surf in Hawaii, August 3 to 4, 2004
Start: 2004-08-03T07:15
End: 2004-08-04T16:00
Location: Hawaii

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 8

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 swell from former Hurricane Darby generated surf of 4 to 8 feet along the east shores of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and the Big Island of Hawaii. 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 Aug 3, 4:00 AM HST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 3, 4:00 AM HST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
400 AM HST TUE AUG 3 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR THE ENTIRE STATE.
THE REMNANT LOW OF TROPICAL STORM DARBY...CENTERED 25 MILES EAST OF
HANA...IS BRINGING HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO THE
BIG ISLAND AND MAUI. EXPECT SHOWERS...WITH SOME ANCHORED HEAVY
SHOWERS THAT MAY CAUSE FLASH FLOODING...TODAY...SPREADING WESTWARD
TO THE OTHER ISLANDS. TRADE WINDS CONTINUE OVER THE SMALLER
ISLANDS...BUT WILL BECOME VARIABLE AS THE LOW CONTINUES WESTWARD AT
LESS THAN 10 MILES PER HOUR.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
EX-DARBY...APPARENTLY STILL A CLOSED SURFACE LOW...WAS ABOUT 25
MILES EAST OF HANA AT 200 AM THIS MORNING. A WIDE SHIELD OF DEEP
TROPICAL MOISTURE...WITH EMBEDDED HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS SURROUNDS THIS CENTER AND WILL BE AFFECTING ALL THE
MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS TODAY INTO WEDNESDAY. HEAVY SHOWERS ARE
OCCURRING MAINLY ON MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND...AND A FLASH FLOOD
WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE STATE THROUGH 4 PM TODAY. HEAVY
SHOWERS...SOME OF WHICH MAY BECOME ANCHORED...MAY PRODUCE FLASH
FLOODING STATE-WIDE TODAY. A 1034 MB HIGH FAR NORTH OF THE STATE
WILL KEEP TRADE WINDS OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS TODAY...BUT WINDS
WILL BE AFFECTED BY A WEAK CYCLONIC CIRCULATION AROUND A SURFACE LOW
THAT REMAINS FROM TROPICAL STORM DARBY. WINDS ON THE BIG ISLAND OF
HAWAII ARE ALREADY LIGHT SOUTHERLY DUE TO THE PROXIMITY OF THIS LOW.

AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE JUST WEST OF KAUAI IS HELPING
PRODUCE THE HEAVY SHOWERS BY DESTABILIZING THE WARM HUMID AIR WITHIN
THE TROPICAL LOW CIRCULATION. THIS INSTABILITY IS EVIDENT ON BOTH
THE LIHUE AND HILO SOUNDINGS. A K-INDEX OF 37...WITH A LIFTED INDEX
OF -4.1 INDICATES A VERY UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE BIG ISLAND AND
WITHIN THE CIRCULATION OF THE REMNANT LOW NEAR MAUI.

MODELS ARE KEEPING WINDS SOUTHEASTERLY ON WEDNESDAY...AT THE REMNANT
LOW MOVES BY KAUAI...AND THE HEAVY RAINS SHOULD BECOME MORE
LIMITED... MAINLY TO KAUAI AND OAHU. BY THURSDAY OUR MORE NORMAL
TRADE WINDS WILL RETURN...ALONG WITH DRIER AND MORE STABLE WEATHER.

&&

.LONG TERM...
WE ARE ALSO WATCHING ANOTHER AREA OF THREATENING WEATHER...TROPICAL
DEPRESSION SIX-E...LESS THAN 1600 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF HILO. THE
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER IN MIAMI HAS REDUCED THE CHANCES OF THIS
SYSTEM DEVELOPING...BUT THE AVIATION MODEL IS STILL BRINGING A LARGE
SLUG OF TROPICAL MOISTURE OVER THE STATE LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY.
THUS...HEAVY RAINFALL IS AGAIN A POSSIBLITY FOR THE COMING WEEKEND.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH ALL ISLANDS.

&&

FARRELL

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Oahu Koolau

When: August 3, 7:15 AM HST to August 4, 4:00 PM HST
Where: Oahu Koolau forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Big Island North and East

When: August 3, 7:15 AM HST to August 4, 4:00 PM HST
Where: Big Island North and East forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Kauai Windward

When: August 3, 7:15 AM HST to August 4, 4:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Maui Windward West

When: August 3, 7:15 AM HST to August 4, 4:00 PM HST
Where: Maui Windward West forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Molokai Windward

When: August 3, 7:15 AM HST to August 4, 4:00 PM HST
Where: Molokai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Olomana

When: August 3, 7:15 AM HST to August 4, 4:00 PM HST
Where: Olomana forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, South Big Island

When: August 3, 7:15 AM HST to August 4, 4:00 PM HST
Where: South Big Island forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Windward Haleakala

When: August 3, 7:15 AM HST to August 4, 4:00 PM HST
Where: Windward Haleakala forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

What these are

High Surf: Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, August 2004

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: 5431587, 5431588, 5431589, 5431590, 5431591, 5431592, 5431593, 5431594.