Heavy Rain, Honolulu
- When
- January 2, 9:54 AM HST to January 3, 5:00 AM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, Countywide
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, January 2 to 3, 2004
Intermittent heavy rain, showers, and isolated thunderstorms caused occasional mudslides that forced lane closures on some roadways across Oahu, most particularly Pali Highway near Kamehameha Highway, and Kaneohe Bay Drive. Power outages also occurred from time to time in many parts of the island.
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.
Intermittent heavy rain, showers, and isolated thunderstorms caused occasional mudslides that forced lane closures on some roadways across Oahu, most particularly Pali Highway near Kamehameha Highway, and Kaneohe Bay Drive. Power outages also occurred from time to time in many parts of the island. Backups of sewer lines, as well, caused raw sewage to be spilled into a few streets and streams. 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 Jan 2, 7:15 AM HST, 2 hours 39 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 2, 7:15 AM HST, 2 hours 39 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION...AMENDED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 715 AM HST FRI JAN 2 2004 .SYNOPSIS... A FRONTAL BAND OVER MAUI COUNTY WILL BE RETREATING WESTWARD TODAY. ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL AFFECT THE ISLANDS KAUAI THROUGH MAUI TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY AS THAT FRONT REORGANIZES AND STRENGTHENS FOR ITS MOVE EASTWARD ONCE AGAIN. TRADES STILL EXPECTED TO RETURN EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... A LOW PRESSURE CENTER THAT FORMED ON THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN MOIST TROPICAL AIR OVER THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN PORTION OF THE STATE AND SLIGHTLY DRIER AIR OVER KAUAI AND WESTWARD HAS MOVED WELL NORTH OF THE ISLANDS THIS MORNING. MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE BEGINNING TO FORM ALONG AND WEST OF THIS BOUNDARY...SOUTH OF THE STATE THIS MORNING AS THE EFFECTS OF A NEW TROUGH IN THE UPPER AIR WEST OF HAWAII BEGIN TO BE FELT. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE NORTHWARD TO GIVE THE STATE ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS BEGINNING TODAY MAINLY KAUAI TO MOLOKAI AND LANAI...THEN SPREADING TO MAUI TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAINFALL OVER ALREADY SATURATED GROUND. FORECAST MODELS ARE INDICATING HEAVY RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 2 TO 6 INCHES OR MORE FOR THE ISLANDS FROM KAUI TO MAUI THROUGH SATURDAY. SOME CLEARING IS EXPECTED ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS A SMALL MIGRATORY HIGH MOVES EASTWARD JUST NORTH OF THE STATE GIVING US A BRIEF PERIOD OF LIGHT TRADES. WITH THE ABUNDANT MOISTURE AROUND THE ISLANDS HOWEVER...WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS MAY STILL SEE LINGERING SHOWERS EVEN THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. A NEW STRONG TROUGH WILL THEN SWING BY TO THE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS TO PRODUCE ANOTHER THREAT OF INCLEMENT WEATHER LATE NEXT WEEK. WE ARE AT THE PRIME TIME FOR WINTER STORMS HERE IN THE ISLANDS WHEN THE VIGOROUS LOWS OF THE MIDDLE LATITUDES PASS BY RATHER CLOSE TO THE STATE. && .UPDATE... ZONE AND STATE FORECASTS UPDATED AT 650 AM FOR FLOOD WATCH AND MORE CLOUDS... HEAVY SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WATCH OAHU...MAUI...MOLOKAI...LANAI ISSUED AT 650 AM HST && FARRELL
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Avalanche in Idaho, January 2, 2004
- High Surf in California, January 2, 2004
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, January 2, 2004
- High Wind in Colorado, January 2, 2004
- Flooding in Indiana, January 2 to 13, 2004
- Debris Flow in California, January 2, 2004
- Winter Storm in North Dakota, January 2 to 3, 2004
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 2 to 3, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 2, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 2 to 3, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 2 to 3, 2004
- Heavy Snow in California, January 2 to 3, 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: 5431667.