Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, January 24 to 25, 2004
Start: 2004-01-24T23:20
End: 2004-01-25T02:20
Location: Hawaii

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

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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.

Heavy rain, showers, and thunderstorms caused ponding of roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding in windward parts of East Maui. There were no reports of serious property damage or 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 24, 8:00 PM HST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 24, 8:00 PM HST, 3 hours 20 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU
800 PM HST SAT JAN 24 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
A DEEP UPPER LEVEL TROUGH PRETTY MUCH STATIONARY OVER THE MAIN
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS WILL KEEP THE TRHEAT FOR HEAVY SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS FROM MOLOKAI EASTWARD TO THE BIG ISLAND. THE TROUGH IS
EXPECTED TO MOVE OUT EARLY NEXT WEEK AND BE REPLACED BY A MORE
NORMAL TRADE WIND REGIME.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
THIS LATEST ROUND OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IS BEING AIDED
BY A SHORTWAVE TROUGH PASSING THROUGH THE ISLANDS. IT IS SLOW TO
EXIT AND IS CAUSING SPOTTY HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS
ESPECIALLY OVER THE WINDWARD AREAS OF MOLOKAI MAUI AND THE BIG
ISLAND. THERE HAS BEEN SOME LETUP OVER EASTERN MOLOKAI AND WINDWARD
BIG ISLAND AND MORE THAN LIKELY THE URBAN AND SMALL STREAM ADVISORY
WILL BE CANCELLED AT THEIR RESPECTIVE TIME.

DUE TO THE SLOW EXITING OF THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH...I EXPECT THE
CONTINUATION OF ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS ESPECIALLY OVER THE
WINDWARD SECTIONS OF ALL ISLANDS BUT KAUAI...AND WOULD NOT RULE OUT
AN HEAVY SHOWER OR TWO BUT NOT TO THE DEGREE AS DURING THE AFTERNOON
HOURS.

SHOWERS EMBEDDED IN THE WEAK TRADE WIND FLOW HAVE SNEAKED ONTO THE
WINDWARD SECTIONS OF OAHU...AND HAVE ACCORDINGLY UPDATED THE ZONES.

&&

.SURF...
THE HIGH SURF WILL CONTINUE INTO SUNDAY AT ADVISORY LEVELS THEN
SLOWLY LOWER.

&&

.HNL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FLASH FLOOD WATCH......MAUI MOLOKAI LANAI AND BIG ISLAND
HIGH SURF ADVISORY.....NORTH AND WEST SHORES KAUAI OAHU MAUI
                       MOLOKAI AND LANAI
                       WEST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND

&&

LAU

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Maui

When: January 24, 11:20 PM HST to January 25, 2:20 AM HST
Where: Maui County, Spreckelsville
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5432359.