Funnel Cloud in Hawaii, November 4, 2004

Name: Funnel Cloud in Hawaii, November 4, 2004
Start: 2004-11-04T13:33
End: 2004-11-04T13:42
Location: Hawaii

November 4, 2004 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Military and civilian employees of the Joint Typhoon Warning Center at Pearl Harbor sighted a funnel cloud in the foothills of the Waianae Mountains. The funnel cloud dissipated without incident.

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.

Military and civilian employees of the Joint Typhoon Warning Center at Pearl Harbor sighted a funnel cloud in the foothills of the Waianae Mountains. The funnel cloud dissipated without incident.

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 4, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 4, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours 33 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST THU NOV 4 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
LIGHT WINDS AND HUMID CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS AS THE WIND PATTERN FAVORS LOCAL LAND AND SEA BREEZES. SHOWER
ACTIVITY WILL BE GREATEST DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. A
COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH KAUAI THIS WEEKEND WITH A INCREASE IN
SHOWERS EXPECTED FOR KAUAI. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BREAK UP
BEFORE REACHING THE OTHER ISLANDS. LIGHT TRADE WINDS MAY MAKE A
RETURN BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
RATHER UNCOMFORTABLE WEATHER IS EXPECTED OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS
AS LIGHT WINDS AND HUMID CONDITIONS PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEKEND. A
WEAK COLD FRONT LIES TO THE WEST NORTHWEST OF KAUAI AND IS FORECAST
TO MOVE CLOSER TO THE WESTERN END OF THE MAIN ISLAND CHAIN OVER THE
WEEKEND. THE LATEST GFS MODEL RUN BRINGS THE FRONT TO KAUAI BEFORE
BREAKING IT UP OR PULLING IS MOISTURE FIELD NORTHWARD. KAUAI WILL
HAVE THE BEST CHANCE FOR SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT WHILE THE
REST OF THE ISLANDS WILL SEE A GENERAL CONVECTIVE PATTERN WITH
SHOWERS FAVORING AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS.

AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT ALSO LIES WEST
NORTHWEST OF THE STATE. THIS IS PULLING UP HIGH CLOUDS OVER THE
ISLANDS WHICH IS CAUSING RATHER CLOUDY CONDITIONS. ISOLATED SHOWERS
ARE PRESENTLY SEEN OVER AND AROUND THE ISLANDS BUT THESE ARE ALL
RATHER LIGHT IN INTENSITY.

TRADE WINDS MAY ATTEMPT TO MAKE A COMEBACK DURING THE MIDDLE OF NEXT
WEEK BUT SPEEDS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE ALL THAT STRONG THUS THE
MUGGY CONDITIONS MAY PERSIST.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.

&&

BURKE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Funnel Cloud, Honolulu

When: November 4, 1:33 PM HST to 1:42 PM HST
Where: Honolulu County, 6 mi W of Aiea
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Funnel Cloud: A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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: 5431996.