East to southeast winds gusted to 60 mph over the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii, and over the summit of Haleakala in Maui. The winds were caused by a strong pressure gradient--a low aloft southeast of the state and high pressure northwest of the island chain.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
East to southeast winds gusted to 60 mph over the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii, and over the summit of Haleakala in Maui. The winds were caused by a strong pressure gradient--a low aloft southeast of the state and high pressure northwest of the island chain. No serious injuries or property damage were reported.
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 6, 10:00 AM HST, 6 minutes earlier.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST MON DEC 6 2004 .SYNOPSIS... TRADE WINDS ARE WEAKENING SLOWLY...BUT WILL REMAIN WITH US THROUGH TUESDAY. A LOW ALOFT...CURRENTLY ABOUT 300 MILES EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND...CONTINUES TO MOVE WEST TOWARDS THE ISLANDS...WHILE GRADUALLY WEAKENING. THE LOW ALOFT WILL INDUCE A SURFACE TROUGH NEAR THE ISLANDS...BRINGING LIGHT WINDS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. INCREASING NORTHERLY WINDS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...WITH A WEAK FRONT MOVING DOWN THE ISLAND CHAIN ON THURSDAY. BREEZY NORTHEAST WINDS ON FRIDAY WILL DIMINISH NEXT WEEKEND. && .UPDATE... HAVE ISSUED HIGH WIND WARNING FOR VOLCANO SUMMITS DUE TO STRONG GRADIENT BETWEEN UPPER LOW TO SOUTHEAST AND HIGH TO THE NORTHWEST. GRIDS/ZONES ALREADY UPDATED TO INCREASE LOW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS MOST WINDWARD AREAS THIS MORNING. WILL UPDATE GRIDS/ZONES AGAIN SHORTLY TO REFLECT WIND WARNING FOR SUMMITS. FORECAST PHILOSOPHY OTHERWISE REMAINS UNCHANGED...SO PREVIOUS DISCUSSION IS APPENDED BELOW. && .PREV DISCUSSION... THE HIGH WHICH GENERATED THE STRONG TRADE WIND FLOW IS CONTINUING TO WEAKEN AS IT MOVES TOWARD US FROM THE NORTHEAST. WIND SPEEDS ARE DECREASING...AND THIS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MIDWEEK. AN UPPER LEVEL 500 MB LOW CAN BE SEEN ON SATELLITE NEAR 19N 150W AS IT MOVES TOWARD THE ISLANDS AT 15 TO 20 MPH. THE GLOBAL FORECAST MODEL MOVES THIS LOW NEAR THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII TUESDAY NIGHT...THEN NORTHWARD AND AWAY FROM THE STATE. A WEAK SURFACE TROUGH IS LEFT OVER THE ISLANDS ON WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY...WEAKENING WINDS STATEWIDE AND BRINGING UNSTABLE MOISTURE TO THE BIG ISLAND. WITH THE LIGHT WINDS WEDNESDAY...EXPECT THE WEATHER PATTERN TO CHANGE STATEWIDE TO A LAND AND SEA BREEZE REGIME...WITH AFTERNOON CLOUDS AND SHOWERS OVER ISLAND INTERIOR SECTIONS LIKELY. && .LONG TERM... A FULL LATITUDE TROUGH IS FORECAST TO DIG SOUTHEASTWARD AND PASS OVER THE ISLANDS ON THURSDAY. A SURFACE FRONT WITH THIS TROUGH WILL BRING MAINLY AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND A SHIFT IN WINDS BY AFTERNOON TO NORTHERLY OVER MOST ISLANDS. THE FOLLOWING SURFACE HIGH SHOULD RESTORE MODERATE TRADE WINDS TO THE ISLANDS FOR FRIDAY...CONTINUING INTO NEXT WEEKEND. THE GFS MODEL IS STILL INDICATING A SERIES OF FULL LATITUDE TROUGHS WILL FOLLOW IN THIS ONES FOOTSTEPS HOWEVER... BRINGING CHANGEABLE WEATHER TO THE ISLANDS FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK. && .MARINE... A STORM FAR NORTHWEST OF THE STATE OFF KAMCHATKA IS SENDING A NORTHWEST SWELL TOWARD THE ISLANDS THAT WILL BRING ADVISORY LEVEL SURF TO NORTH FACING SHORES BEGINNING MONDAY NIGHT OR TUESDAY AND CONTINUING INTO WEDNESDAY. AN INTENSE STORM INCORPORATING THE REMNANT ENERGY FROM EX-TYPHOON NANMADOL IS FORMING IN THE FAR NORTHWEST PACIFIC OFF JAPAN. THIS LOW IS EXPECTED TO SEND SWELLS OUR WAY THAT WILL RAISE SURF ABOVE THE ADVISORY LEVEL ALONG NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF THE ISLANDS THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING...SUMMITS OF HALEAKALA...MAUNA KEA AND MAUNA LOA HIGH SURF ADVISORY....EAST SHORES MOST ISLANDS SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS BIRCHARD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, December 2004
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: 5432139, 5432140.