Flash Flood, Hawaii
- When
- January 23, 4:00 PM HST to 5:30 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, 9 mi SW of Kamuela
- 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 showers and thunderstorms caused enough flooding to close a portion of Queen Kaahumanu Highway in West Hawaii for a time, and to damage some homes in Waikoloa Village. The cost of damages to the homes was not available.
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 showers and thunderstorms caused enough flooding to close a portion of Queen Kaahumanu Highway in West Hawaii for a time, and to damage some homes in Waikoloa Village. The cost of damages to the homes was not available. There were no reports of serious injuries.
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, 4:00 PM HST, 0 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 4:00 PM HST, 0 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU 4 PM HST FRI JAN 23 2004 .SYNOPSIS... A CHANCE OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS WEEKEND FOR THE ENTIRE STATE. THE UNSTABLE WEATHER IS THE RESULT OF A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH WEST OF THE STATE. && .DISCUSSION... THE PRIME INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR HEAVY RAIN WILL BE WITH US THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE FIRST INGREDIENT IS COLDER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES ALOFT AT AROUND 20 THOUSAND FEET. IN THIS CASE...THE COLD AIR IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH...ALSO REFERRED TO AS A LONGWAVE TROUGH...LOCATED WEST OF THE ISLANDS. THE COLD AIR WILL MOVE SOUTHEASTWARD WEST OF AN UPPER TROUGH THEN NORTHEASTWARD UP OVER THE STATE. THE SECOND INGREDIENT IS ONE OR MORE SMALLER TROUGHS EMBEDDED IN THE FLOW ALOFT. THESE FEATURES...CALLED SHORTWAVE TROUGHS...EFFECTIVELY ENHANCE THE CONVECTION. ONE SUCH TROUGH BROUGHT THUNDERSTORMS TO THE SMALLER ISLANDS LAST NIGHT AND IS PRESENTLY CAUSING THE HEAVY RAIN OVER THE SOUTH AND EAST SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND. A SECOND SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS ENHANCING AN IMPRESSIVE AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS SOUTH OF THE STATE. THIS FEATURE BEARS CLOSE WATCHING AS IT IS HEADED TOWARDS THE BIG ISLAND. A THIRD TROUGH...WHOSE ROLE IN ISLAND WEATHER IS YET TO BE DETERMINED...IS PRESENTLY DROPPING SOUTHWARD TO THE WEST OF KAUAI. THE THIRD INGREDIENT IS MOISTURE. IN THIS CASE...THERE WILL BE NO LACK OF WATER. THIS IS BECAUSE SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS FROM THE SURFACE TO HIGH UP INTO THE ATMOSPHERE WILL DRAW AN ABUNDANCE OF MOISTURE UP FROM THE TROPICS. THE LONGWAVE TROUGH IS FORECAST TO MOVE SLOWLY TO THE EAST...AND WILL BE EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND BY TUESDAY. THIS WOULD PUT DRY NORTH WINDS OVER THE STATE AND DISPLACE THE HEAVY CONVECTION TO OUR EAST. && .HNL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH.....ENTIRE STATE TILL 4 AM HST && CRAIG
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: 5432348.