Flash Flood, Kauai
- When
- January 1, 7:42 AM HST to 9:03 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, 2 mi ENE of Hanalei
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Hawaii, January 1, 2004
Heavy rain over the mountains in central Kauai caused many streams and rivers to become swollen and overflow their banks. The Hanalei River flooded near the Hanalei Bridge and forced the closure of the bridge and roadway for a time on the morning of the 1st.
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 rain over the mountains in central Kauai caused many streams and rivers to become swollen and overflow their banks. The Hanalei River flooded near the Hanalei Bridge and forced the closure of the bridge and roadway for a time on the morning of the 1st. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries, however.
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 Jan 1, 5:17 AM HST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 5:17 AM HST, 2 hours 25 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY... FAIR WEATHER WITH LITTLE CHANGE EXPECTED. SURFACE RIDGE IS TO THE NORTH. IT WILL BE REINFORCED BY A MIGATING HIGH WILL MOVE IN TO THE NORTH SATURDAY NIGHT. SATELLITE SHOWS AN AREA OF STABLE CLOUDS TO THE NORTH. NORTHEAST TRADE WINDS INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KNOTS AND BECOMING MORE EASTERLY ON SUNDAY. A NORTHWEST SWELL 8 TO 9 FEET DECREASING SATURDAY.
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
- Blizzard in Idaho, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Drought in Colorado, January 1 to 31, 2004
- Winter Storm in Montana, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 1 to 3, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Winter Storm in Montana, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Winter Storm in Colorado, January 1 to 4, 2004
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in California, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Winter Storm in Utah, January 1 to 4, 2004
- Drought in Utah, January 1 to 31, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Washington, January 1 to 2, 2004
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 1, 2004
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 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: 5431569.