Flash Flood, Maui
- When
- February 27, 7:00 PM HST to 11:30 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 9 mi ESE of Kaunakakai
- Reported by
- GOVT OFFICIAL
- Coordinates
- 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Hawaii, February 27, 2004
Thunderstorms and heavy rain with a cold front generated flash flooding along Kamehameha V Highway near Kamalo on the island of Molokai. The deep water closed the highway near Kamalo for several hours.
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 with a cold front generated flash flooding along Kamehameha V Highway near Kamalo on the island of Molokai. The deep water closed the highway near Kamalo for several hours. However, 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 Feb 27, 4:00 PM HST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 4:00 PM HST, 3 hours before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 4 PM HST FRI FEB 27 2004 .SYNOPSIS... THE COLD FRONT HAS MOVED THROUGH KAUAI AND SITS IN THE KAUAI CHANNEL. STRONG WINDS...HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUE TO THE EAST OF THE FRONT. THE HEAVY RAINFALL AND STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT...AND INTO SATURDAY OVER THE BIG ISLAND. ELSEWHERE...SHOWERS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH...BUT UNSTABLE AIR WILL REMAIN OVER THE ISLANDS FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...PROMOTING SCATTERED SHOWERS WITH A CHANCE OF AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS. TRADES ARE EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY RETURN BY MIDWEEK. && .DISCUSSION... A COLD FRONT IN THE KAUAI CHANNEL IS MOVING SLOWLY EAST...WITH HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN BANDS FAR TO ITS EAST. THESE BANDS DROPPED AS MUCH AS 9 INCHES OF RAINFALL ON THE ISLANDS OF KAUAI AND OAHU...AND ARE EXPECTED TO BRING 2 TO 6 INCHES OF RAINFALL TO MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY. THE FRONT AND ASSOCIATED HEAVY RAIN BANDS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM NOW NORTH OF THE STATE. THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO MOVE VERY SLOWLY NORTHEASTWARD OVER THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS...AS AN UPPER LOW ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM DOES A LOOP NORTH OF THE STATE...THEN MOVE OFF TOWARD THE NORTH NORTHEAST. THE UPPER LOW WILL MAINTAIN INSTABILITY OVER THE ISLANDS OVER THE WEEKEND...BUT THE WEATHER WILL GRADUALLY DRY OUT...AT LEAST OVER LEEWARD SIDES...NEXT WEEK. && .MARINE... A NORTHWEST SWELL CONTINUES TO PRODUCE VERY LARGE SURF ALONG NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES...WITH A HIGH SURF WARNING IN EFFECT. GALE WARNINGS CONTINUE IN THE CHANNELS AND COASTAL WATERS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING TONIGHT ALL ISLANDS BUT KAUAI FLASH FLOOD WATCH TOMOGHT ALL ISLANDS BUT KAUAI WINTER STORM WARNING FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS THROUGH SATURDAY HIGH SURF WARNING NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS BUT LANAI THROUGH SATURDAY FARRELL
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
- Flash Flood 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: 5431062.