Flash Flood, Kauai
- When
- February 27, 4:00 AM HST to 9:15 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, 2 mi E of Hanalei
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Hawaii, February 27, 2004
Thunderstorms and heavy rain triggered by a cold front produced flooding on and near the Hanalei Bridge on the Garden Isle of Kauai. This flooding closed Kuhio Highway for a time east of Hanalei.
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.
Thunderstorms and heavy rain triggered by a cold front produced flooding on and near the Hanalei Bridge on the Garden Isle of Kauai. This flooding closed Kuhio Highway for a time east of Hanalei. However, 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 Feb 27, 3:30 AM HST, 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 3:30 AM HST, 30 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND ...A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR WAKE ISLAND... A SURFACE RIDGE EXTENDING SOUTHWEST FROM A 1022 MB SURFACE HIGH NEAR 31N176W PASSES JUST NORTH OF WAKE THIS MORNING. CONDITIONS ARE RATHER BENIGN...WITH SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWING ONLY SCATTERED LOW CLOUDS NEARBY AND UPWIND. HOWEVER...A COLD FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST WILL ARRIVE IN YOUR VICINITY LATE SUNDAY NIGHT...BRINGING SHOWERS AND GUSTY WINDS AS IT PASSES BY. THE NORTH NORTHWEST SWELL WILL DECREASE TO 7 TO 9 FEET SATURDAY AND TO 4 FEET SUNDAY.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Surf in Hawaii, February 27 to 29, 2004
- Damaging Wind in Hawaii, February 27, 2004
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 27 to 28, 2004
- Debris Flow in American Samoa, February 27, 2004
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 27 to 29, 2004
- Winter Weather in Colorado, February 27 to 29, 2004
- High Wind in Hawaii, February 27 to 28, 2004
- Storm Surge and High Wind in North Carolina, February 27, 2004
- Winter Storm in Utah, February 27 to 29, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, February 27, 2004
- Dense Fog in Wisconsin, February 27, 2004
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, February 27, 2004
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, February 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: 5431059.