Flash Flood, Hawaii
- When
- January 23, 9:00 AM HST to 9:45 AM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, 4 mi N of Pahala
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Hawaii, January 23, 2004
Heavy rain and thunderstorms washed out a portion of Wood Valley Road between Pahala and Kapapala Ranch in the Kau District on the Big Island of Hawaii. However, no serious injuries or property damage were reported.
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 and thunderstorms washed out a portion of Wood Valley Road between Pahala and Kapapala Ranch in the Kau District on the Big Island of Hawaii. 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 Jan 23, 4:21 AM HST, 4 hours 39 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 4:21 AM HST, 4 hours 39 minutes before
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR WAKE ISLAND LITTLE CHANGE IS EXPECTED AS TRADE WINDS KEEP RELATIVELY DRY AIR PUSHING OVER WAKE. CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED BRIEF SHOWER... OTHERWISE MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES ARE EXPECTED. TRADES OF 10 TO 20 KNOTS ARE EXPECTED. WAVEWATCH III MODEL SHOWS 6-FOOT NORTH NORTHWEST SWELL CONTINUING THROUGH THE NEXT 24 HOURS. R BALLARD
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
- Winter Storm in West Virginia, January 23 to 24, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 23 to 25, 2004
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 23 to 24, 2004
- Winter Storm in Maryland, January 23 to 24, 2004
- Cold in Maine, January 23 to 24, 2004
- Cold in Maryland, January 23, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, January 23 to 24, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 23 to 25, 2004
- Ice Storm in Oregon, January 23 to 24, 2004
- Cold in Maryland, January 23, 2004
- Cold in West Virginia, January 23, 2004
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, January 23, 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: 5432346.