Strong winds over the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii became sustained at or near 40 knots for much of the 20th and 21st of March. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries.
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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.
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
Strong winds over the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii became sustained at or near 40 knots for much of the 20th and 21st of March. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries.
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 Mar 20, 8:30 AM HST, 6 hours earlier.
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 830 AM HST SAT MAR 20 2004 .SYNOPSIS... A TRADE WIND PATTERN OF CLOUDS AND SHOWERS FAVORING WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS WILL SPREAD EASTWARD TODAY...THEN LAST THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS BETWEEN THE ISLANDS AND A DEPARTING LOW. STRONGER TRADES WILL INCREASE CLOUD AND SHOWER COVERAGE MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. && .DISCUSSION... THERE HAS BEEN A RATHER PROFOUND CHANGE IN PHILOSOPHY CONCERNING THE FORECAST FROM TUESDAY ONWARD. THE UPPER TROUGH STILL EXPECTED TO FORM WEST OF THE ISLANDS THIS WEEKEND IS NO LONGER EXPECTED TO INDUCE TROUGHING AT THE SURFACE. REMOVING THIS INDUCED SURFACE TROUGH FROM THE SCENARIO WILL ALLOW A 1024 MB SURFACE HIGH...NOT JUST A WEAK RIDGE...TO MOVE EASTWARD BEHIND A LOW DEPARTING TO THE NORTHEAST. INSTEAD OF WEAKENED SOUTHEASTERLIES WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF HEAVY RAIN TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...THE FORECAST NOW CALLS FOR CONTINUED TRADE WINDS WITH INCREASING TRADE SHOWER COVERAGE THROUGH THAT PERIOD. A SHEARLINE PUSHED SOUTH OVER THE ISLANDS BY THE LOW...THEN LEFT OVER US AS THE LOW MOVES AWAY...WILL BE THE SOURCE OF INCREASING SHOWER COVERAGE THROUGH MOST OF NEXT WEEK. WINDS HAVE ALREADY VEERED TO NORTHEASTERLIES NEAR KAUAI AND OAHU. THE REST OF THE ISLANDS WILL FOLLOW SUIT TODAY. HIGH PRESSURE NOW NORTH OF 40N ALONG 170W WILL RAPIDLY MOVE SOUTH THEN SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE WEEK...STEEPENING THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE ISLANDS AND INCREASING TRADE WINDS FOR THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. STRONGER TRADES PUSH A GREATER VOLUME OF AIR ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS...SQUEEZING OUT MORE MOISTURE WITHIN A FIXED TIME FRAME. EXPECT CLOUD AND SHOWER COVERAGE TO INCREASE AS WINDS INCREASE. BY LATE THURSDAY...THE HIGH ALONG 30N WILL MOVE EAST OF 150W...CAUSING TRADE WINDS TO WEAKEN A BIT FOR THE LATTER PART OF NEXT WEEK. THE LAST FEW 12Z GFS MODEL PANELS SHOW A STRONGER HIGH MOVING IN NORTH OF THE STATE...SO TRADE WINDS MAY BECOME STRONG AND GUSTY JUST BEYOND THE SEVEN DAY FORECAST PERIOD. && .WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF ADVISORY...EAST FACING SHORES POWELL
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 2004
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: 5431280, 5431281, 5431282.