Hawaii, 2004

Tornado in Hawaii, February 27 to 28, 2004

February 27 to 28, 2004 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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
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 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, 8:40 PM HST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 27, 8:40 PM HST, 2 hours 50 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
840 PM HST FRI FEB 27 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
A COLD FRONT BETWEEN OAHU AND MOLOKAI SEPARATES THE HEAVY SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE EAST OVER MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND
FROM MODERATE SHOWERS TO THE WEST. THE FRONT AND ALL THE BAD WEATHER
WILL MOVE TO THE EAST...ENDING UP EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND SATURDAY
NIGHT. 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 RETURN BY MIDWEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
JUDGING BY THE DIRECTION OF THE WIND OVER OAHU AND MOLOKAI...THE
COLD FRONT IS OVER THE KAIWI CHANNEL. IT IS MOVING TO THE EAST AND
SHOULD REACH THE ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL SATURDAY MORNING. PROGS THEN
SHOW THE FRONT EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND SATURDAY NIGHT. HEAVY SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS AND STRONG SOUTH WINDS WILL SHIFT EASTWARD AHEAD
OF THE FRONT...TO BE REPLACED BY THE DRYER AND LESS WINDY WEATHER
BEHIND THE FRONT.

THE FRONT IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SURFACE LOW NOW ABOUT 225 MILES NORTH
OF KAUAI. AN UPPER LOW LOCATED ABOVE THE SURFACE LOW IS FORECAST TO
MOVE SOUTH OVER KAUAI SATURDAY THEN LIFT OUT TO THE NORTHEAST
SUNDAY. COLD TEMPERATURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW ALOFT WILL KEEP
THE AIRMASS UNSTABLE...RESULTING IN THE FORMATION OF THUNDERSTORMS
OVER LAND IN THE AFTERNOON. THE COLD TEMPERATURES WILL LIFT OUT TO
THE NORTHEAST WITH THE LOW...REDUCING THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS
SUNDAY.

&&

.MARINE...
SWELL DATA FROM BUOY ONE INDICATE THAT SURF ALONG THE NORTH SHORES
OF KAUAI AND OAHU WILL BE HIGHER THAN THE 25 FEET FORECAST FOR
TONIGHT. THE HIGH SURF WARNING WILL BE ADJUSTED UPPER AT 9 PM
PROBABLY TO 20 TO 35 FEET FOR KAUAI AND OAHU.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH WIND WARNING MOLOKAI TO THE BIG ISLAND
FLASH FLOOD WATCH OAHU TO THE BIG ISLAND
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS THROUGH SATURDAY
HIGH SURF WARNING NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS BUT
LANAI THROUGH SATURDAY

CRAIG

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Hawaii

When
February 27, 11:30 PM HST to February 28, 12:30 AM HST
Where
Hawaii County, 2 mi SE of Pahala
Rating
F0
Path length
5 mi
Path width
25 yd
Reported by
NWS STORM SURVEY
Coordinates
19.183, -155.467

A tornado touched down in the Kau District on the Big Island of Hawaii. The twister mainly impacted Namakani Paio campground west of the town of Volcano and downed many trees in the area, especially cypress. Some homes in the area were damaged by the falling trees, and some power lines were snapped or downed. Cost of damages was not available. There were no reports of serious injuries.

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Hawaii, 2004Warnings 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: 5431177.