Heavy Rain, Honolulu
- When
- December 22, 7:50 AM HST to 4:52 PM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, Waianae
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, December 22, 2004
Heavy showers produced ponding of roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding over the southern half of Oahu. There were no reports of serious injuries or property damage.
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
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 ponding of roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding over the southern half of Oahu. There were no reports of serious 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 Dec 22, 4:00 AM HST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 22, 4:00 AM HST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 AM HST WED DEC 22 2004 SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT APPROACHING KAUAI WILL BRING SHOWERS TO THE ISLANDS TODAY. THE FRONT WILL STALL NEAR KAUAI AND WEAKEN INTO A TROUGH. THIS WILL KEEP UNSETTLED WEATHER...SHOWERY AT TIMES...OVER THE STATE THROUGH THE CHRISTMAS WEEKEND. THE SURF WILL REMAIN VERY HIGH TODAY...THEN GRADUALLY LOWER THROUGH THURSDAY. && .DISCUSSION... THE STRONG SURFACE LOW NORTH NORTHWEST OF THE STATE CONTINUES TO BE A MAJOR INFLUENCE ON ISLAND WEATHER. THIS LOW...ALONG WITH A COLD FRONT JUST NORTHWEST OF KAUAI...WILL CONTINUE TO DRAW MOIST AIR UP FROM THE TROPICS AND BRING IT OVER THE ISLANDS. CONVERGENCE OF THIS AIR INTO THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY AND TROUGH NEAR KAUAI WILL RESULT IN BANDS OF SHOWERS FORMING SOUTH OF THE ISLANDS...THEN MOVING UP OVER MAINLY THE WESTERNMOST ISLANDS OF KAUAI AND OAHU. THIS SITUATION WILL BE STRONGEST ON WEDNESDAY...BUT LIKELY CONTINUE THROUGH THE CHRISTMAS WEEKEND. THERE IS EVEN A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS OVER AND AROUND KAUAI TODAY...WITH THE INCREASED INSTABILITY. THE TROUGH NEAR KAUAI WILL BE WEAKENING AND WINDS WILL BECOME MORE SOUTHEASTERLY STATEWIDE LATER IN THE WEEK. && .LONG TERM... A SECOND LOW WHICH WAS FORMALLY TROPICAL STORM NORU IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC IS NOW MOVING EAST ALONG ABOUT 25N. THIS GALE LOW WILL MOVE EAST TO ABOUT 170W...THEN STALL...THUS REPLACING THE PRESENT LOW NORTHWEST OF THE STATE. WITH THIS LOW MUCH CLOSER TO THE ISLANDS AND BEING OF TROPICAL ORIGIN...IT IS UNCERTAIN HOW WELL THE MODEL IS HANDLING IT...AND THUS EXACTLY HOW IT WILL AFFECT THE ISLANDS IS SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN AT THIS TIME. MUCH DEPENDS ON THE PROXIMITY OF THE SYSTEM WHEN IT STALLS AND THEN MAKES ITS TURN TO THE NORTH. IN ANY CASE...MOISTURE CONVERGENCE EAST OF THIS LOW WILL DEFINATELY BRING MORE SHOWERS...ESPECIALLY TO KAUAI AND OAHU...THROUGH CHRISTMAS EVE AND INTO THE CHRISTMAS WEEKEND. JUST HOW HEAVY THESE SHOWERS WILL BE AND HOW FAR EAST DOWN THE CHAIN THEY WILL BE FELT IS THE QUESTION THAT REMAINS TO BE ANSWERED. EXPECT UNSETTLED WEATHER IN THE ISLANDS THROUGH THE CHRISTMAS WEEKEND...AT LEAST. && .MARINE... HIGH SURF REMAINS A THREAT TO THE ISLANDS TODAY INTO THURSDAY. THE SECOND IMPULSE...WHICH WAS GENERATED MONDAY BY STORM FORCE WINDS NEAR THE DATELINE...WILL CONTINUE THE WARNING LEVEL SURF OVER MANY OF THE ISLANDS NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES TODAY. SURF SHOULD SUBSIDE SLOWLY THROUGH THURSDAY. REFER TO THE HIGH SURF MESSAGES AND OAHU SURF FORECASTS FOR MORE DETAILS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF WARNING NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF NIIHAU... KAUAI...AND OAHU AND WEST FACING SHORES OF LANAI...MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII. HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR NORTH FACING SHORES OF MOLOKAI AND MAUI. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR LARGE OPEN OCEAN SWELL. && FARRELL
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in Illinois, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Winter Storm in Ohio, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Indiana, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Winter Storm in Ohio, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Winter Storm in Ohio, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Winter Storm in Ohio, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Winter Storm in Kentucky, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Winter Storm in Pennsylvania, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Winter Storm in Ohio, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Indiana, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Ice Storm in Kentucky, December 22 to 23, 2004
- Ice Storm in Kentucky, December 22 to 23, 2004
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, December 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: 5431562.