Lightning Strike in Hawaii, January 23, 2004

Name: Lightning Strike in Hawaii, January 23, 2004
Start: 2004-01-23T02:10
End: 2004-01-23T02:15
Location: Hawaii

January 23, 2004 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck a tree near a residence in Spreckelsville on the island of Maui. The electrical energy from the strike then ran along the ground and damaged a fence and deck railing.

Where it happened

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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 happened

The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.

Lightning struck a tree near a residence in Spreckelsville on the island of Maui. The electrical energy from the strike then ran along the ground and damaged a fence and deck railing. The electrical charge also slightly stunned two men who were near the strike. The cost of the damages was not available. No serious injuries 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 22, 8:30 PM HST, 5 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 22, 8:30 PM HST, 5 hours 40 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU
830 PM HST THU JAN 22 2004

.SYNOPSIS...HEAVY THUNDERSHOWERS HAVE REACHED KAUAI AT 8 PM AND
WILL APPROACH THE OTHER ISLANDS LATER TONIGHT AND DURING THE DAY
FRIDAY. LOCALLY GUSTY SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE
SHOWERS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS CONTINUES OVER THE
STATE. SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS NEAR THE KAUAI END OF THE STATE AND
SOUTHEASTERLIES NEAR BIG ISLAND WILL FUNNEL THIS TROPICAL MOISTURE
IN OVER THE ISLANDS TONIGHT AND ON FRIDAY WITH HEAVY SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRING. ONE WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM JUST WEST OF
KAUAI IS MOVING NORTH NORTHEAST PULLING THE HEAVIEST MOISTURE
NORTHWARD WITH IT. THERE IS HOWEVER PLENTY MORE MOISTURE LEFT
UPSTREAM FOR THE OTHER ISLANDS FOR ADDITIONAL SHOWERS. GUSTY
SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL ACCOMPANY THE THUNDERSTORMS.

THE HEAVY SHOWERS WILL LIKELY SPREAD EASTWARD DURING THE DAY
FRIDAY TO THE OTHER ISLANDS WITH AN INCREASED CHANCE OF THE SHOWERS
REACHING THE BIG ISLAND SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. AT THAT TIME AN UPPER
LOW PRESSURE CIRCULATION CUTS OFF OR DEVELOPS OVER OUR AREA. AS THE
UPPER LOW BECOMES ESTABLISHED BY EARLY NEXT WEEK OVER OR JUST EAST
OF THE BIG ISLAND...THE CLOUD BAND WITH THE BULK OF THE HEAVY
SHOWERS WILL BE CONCENTRATED OVER THE WATERS WELL EAST OF BIG
ISLAND. THE LOW WILL HOWEVER BE CLOSE ENOUGH SO THERE MAY BE
INSTABILITY SHOWERS OR HAIL SHOWERS WITHIN THE COLD CORE OF THE
SYSTEM OVER THE BIG ISLAND. COOLER AND DRIER AIR ON NORTHERLY WINDS
SHOULD THEN BE OVER THE STATE OR AT LEAST THE WESTERN ISLANDS FROM
TUESDAY ON.

&&

.HNL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
 FLASH FLOOD WATCH.....KAUAI
 HIGH SURF ADVISORY....NORTH AND WEST SHORES ALL ISLANDS
 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY..FOR LARGE SWELLS

&&

ROSENDAL

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Maui

When: January 23, 2:10 AM HST to 2:15 AM HST
Where: Maui County, Spreckelsville
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Hawaii in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5432482.