Strong Wind in Hawaii, November 14 to 16, 2004

Name: Strong Wind in Hawaii, November 14 to 16, 2004
Start: 2004-11-14T21:00
End: 2004-11-16T04:00
Location: Hawaii

November 14 to 16, 2004 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
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.

Strong high pressure north of the state brought breezy conditions to all the Hawaiian Islands. Winds were sustained at over 20 mph for much of the period described above, with gusts as high as 46 mph. One boater in a catamaran was slightly injured when the gusty winds capsized his vessel in Hilo Bay. Several trees were downed on the islands. About 9000 residents on Oahu and 6800 on the Big Island of Hawaii lost power for a time as the winds played havoc with electrical lines.

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 Nov 14, 8:30 PM HST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 14, 8:30 PM HST, 30 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST SUN NOV 14 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH A SHEARLINE WILL WET WINDWARD AND MAUKA
SECTIONS OF ALL ISLANDS TONIGHT. THE SHEARLINE SHOULD STALL OVER THE
BIG ISLAND...WITH THE RAIN LINGERING OVER MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG
ISLAND THROUGH MID-WEEK. STRONG TRADE WINDS WILL AFFECT THE ISLANDS
FROM KAUAI TO WINDWARD KOHALA ON THE BIG ISLAND THROUGH MONDAY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
CURRENT FORECAST FOR TONIGHT LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK FOR THE MOST
PART...WITH WINDWARD AREAS BEING CLOUDY...AND SOMEWHAT WET IN THE
FAVORED LOCATIONS. WINDS ARE STRONG AND GUSTY NORTHEASTERLIES ACROSS
MOST ISLAND LOCATIONS...BUT IT APPEARS THAT THE STRONG WINDS NORTH
OF THE SHEAR LINE HAVE NOT YET SPREAD TO THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE
BIG ISLAND. WINDS AT UPOLU AIRPORT HAVE BEEN SUSTAINED OVER 30
MPH...WITH GUSTS NEAR 40 MPH...OVER THE PAST 3 HOURS. LATE
AFTERNOON OBSERVATIONS FROM LANAI CITY WERE ALSO IN THIS RANGE...
ALTHOUGH HIGHER WIND GUSTS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED THERE. THE WINDOWS ARE
CERTAINLY WHISTLING HERE AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN
MANOA...WHERE WINDS ARE ACCELERATING DOWN THE LEE SIDE OF THE KOOLAU
SLOPES.

MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM OF THE MOMENT IS DETERMINING WHETHER THE
STRONG WINDS ARE WIDESPREAD ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A WIND ADVISORY.
ADVISORY CRITERIA IS SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 39 MPH...AND/OR GUSTS
NEAR 40 MPH. THIS IS OCCURRING AT THE WINDIER LOCATIONS ACROSS THE
STATE...BUT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WIDESPREAD ENOUGH TO WARRANT AN
ADVISORY...AT LEAST NOT YET. WIND OBSERVATIONS WILL CONTINUE TO BE
MONITORED. IN ADDITION...OBSERVATIONS FROM BUOY 51201 MOORED NEAR
OAHU/S WAIMEA BAY INDICATE A STEADY INCREASE IN NORTHWEST SWELL
SINCE LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THESE OBSERVATIONS WILL ALSO BE MONITORED
OVERNIGHT FOR A POSSIBLE HIGH SURF ISSUANCE...FOR NORTH FACING
SHORES...IN THE MORNING.

THE ADVISORY SECTION BELOW HAS BEEN MODIFIED FROM EARLIER...TO
INCLUDE THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL. THE
MARINE FORECAST ALREADY CONTAINED THIS INFORMATION...SO THIS WAS
JUST A CORRECTION TO THE PREVIOUS ADVISORY SECTION.

FORECAST PHILOSOPHY REMAINS SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS PRESENTED EARLIER...
SO THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION IS APPENDED BELOW.

.PREV DISCUSSION...
A NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST SHEARLINE...IN THE FORM OF A BAND OF CLOUDS
AND SHOWERS...WILL COVER WINDWARD COASTAL SECTIONS AND WINDWARD
MOUNTAIN SLOPES OF MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND TONIGHT. LEEWARD
SECTIONS SHOULD SEE FEWER CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. THE SHEARLINE WILL
LINGER OVER THE SOUTHEAST HALF OF THE ISLAND CHAIN THROUGH WEDNESDAY
KEEPING WINDWARD SECTIONS CLOUDY AND WET. BEHIND THE SHEARLINE...
CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL STACK UP OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS
TONIGHT AND MONDAY...AND LEEWARD SECTIONS WILL BE DRYER. THE
SHEARLINE IS FORECAST TO DISSIPATE THURSDAY.

THE SURFACE HIGH THAT IS PUSHING THE SHEARLINE ALONG WILL MOVE FROM
NORTHWEST OF THE ISLANDS NEAR 34N 170W TO NORTH OF KAUAI NEAR 35N
160W MONDAY. MODERATE TO BRISK NORTHEAST WINDS SOUTH OF THE HIGH
WILL SPREAD FROM KAUAI TO MAUI COUNTY TODAY AND TONIGHT...THEN TURN
MORE OUT OF THE EAST THEREAFTER. WINDS WILL BE LIGHTER OVER THE BIG
ISLAND...EXCEPT FOR A LOCALLY WINDY NORTH KOHALA. HIGH PRESSURE WILL
REMAIN NORTH OF HAWAII...KEEPING US IN THE TRADE FLOW THROUGH NEXT
WEEKEND.

&&

.MARINE...
THE INCREASING TRADE WINDS WILL BRING HIGH SURF TO EAST FACING
SHORES. THE SURF SHOULD REACH THE ADVISORY LEVEL OF 8 FEET MONDAY
AFTERNOON/EVENING.
&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WATERS NORTH AND WEST OF THE BIG ISLAND.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR RISING SURF FACING SHORES MONDAY.
&&

BIRCHARD

Event by event

1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Big Island North and East

When: November 14, 9:00 PM HST to November 16, 4:00 AM HST
Where: Big Island North and East forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) measured gust
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

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, November 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: 5432017.