Funnel Cloud, Honolulu
- When
- September 3, 4:00 PM HST to 4:30 PM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, Haleiwa
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud in Hawaii, September 3, 2004
A funnel cloud was sighted by a resident of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu. The phenomenon was associated with showery low clouds that had developed in the afternoon hours of the 3rd.
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
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.
A funnel cloud was sighted by a resident of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu. The phenomenon was associated with showery low clouds that had developed in the afternoon hours of the 3rd. The funnel never touched down and produced no damages 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 Sep 3, 10:20 AM HST, 5 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 3, 10:20 AM HST, 5 hours 40 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1020 AM HST FRI SEP 3 2004 .SYNOPSIS... A BRIEF RETURN TO MODERATE TRADES IS IN STORE FOR THE WEEKEND AS HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS STRENGTHENS A BIT. A SURFACE TROUGH WILL DEVELOP EAST OF THE STATE THIS WEEKEND...AND SLIDE WESTWARD OVER THE ISLANDS EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE TROUGH WILL LIGHTEN OUR WINDS ONCE AGAIN...AND ENHANCE OUR LOCALIZED SHOWERS THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... RADAR AND AIRCRAFT WIND OBSERVATIONS INDICATE THAT THE LOW LEVEL FLOW...BELOW ABOUT 8000 FEET...HAVE VEERED TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST. RADAR IS SHOWING CONVERGENCE-PLUME FORCED SHOWERS TO THE SOUTH OF THE ISLANDS DRIFTING WEST-NORTHWEST TOWARD KAUAI...SO AM INCLINED TO RAISE POPS FOR THE GARDEN ISLE FOR THE AFTERNOON. THE AIRMASS IS STILL SOMEWHAT UNSTABLE...WITH A MOIST LAYER FROM ABOUT 11 THOUSAND FEET AND BELOW. ATLHOUGH MOST PLACES WILL BE DRY THIS AFTERNOON... CANNOT COMPLETELY RULE OUT LOCALIZED MODERATE TO HEAVY SEA BREEZE SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON. THE MODEL GUIDANCE INDICATES THAT AS SURFACE TROUGH NEAR 146W /THE REMNANTS OF GEORGETTE/ APPROACHES...THE 850 MB STREAMLINES WILL RATHER QUICKLY BACK TO THE NORTHEAST THIS EVENING...WHICH WOULD KEEP THE THREAT OF PLUME-ENHANCED SHOWERS SOUTH OF THE STATE DURING THE DIURNAL PRECIPITATION MAXIMUM TONIGHT. HOWEVER...A LOOP OF SATELLITE DERIVED LOW CLOUD MOTIONS INDICATE THAT THE MODELS MAY BE A BIT TOO QUICK WITH THIS SWITCH...AND WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO ADJUST RAIN CHANCES FOR TONIGHT AS WELL. A SMALL SURFACE HIGH IS PROGGED TO DEVELOP TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE ISLANDS...FOR A BRIEF SHOT OF INCREASED TRADES OVER THE WEEKEND. FOR A DAY OR TWO...WEATHER WILL PROBABLY SHIFT TO MORE TYPICAL TRADE-WIND TYPE SHOWERS. HOWEVER...THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGING CURRENTLY OVER THE ISLANDS WILL BE REPLACED BY YET ANOTHER UPPER TROUGH...OR POSSIBLY EVEN A WEAK CUTOFF LOW...WILL DROP IN ON THE ISLANDS FROM THE NORTH LATE IN THE WEEKEND. THE UPPER TROUGH WILL INDUCE SURFACE TROUGHING EAST OF THE ISLANDS THROUGH MUCH OF THE UPCOMING WEEKEND. 500 MB TEMPERATURES ARE PROGGED TO BE AROUND MINUS 8C OVER THE ISLANDS BY EARLY MONDAY... WHICH IS A LITTLE COOLER AIR ALOFT THAN THE LAST COUPLE TROUGHS HAVE BROUGHT. AT THE SAME TIME... AS THE SURFACE TROUGH EDGES SLOWLY WESTWARD...LIGHTER WINDS AND MORE HUMID WEATHER WILL RETURN FOR TUESDAY...ALONG WITH THE CHANCE FOR LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && R BALLARD
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Wildfire in California, September 3 to 4, 2004
- Flash Flooding in Indiana, September 3, 2004
- Rip Currents in New Jersey, September 3 to 7, 2004
- Wildfire in Oregon, September 3 to 4, 2004
- Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in Arizona, September 3, 2004
- Flash Flooding in Ohio, September 3 to 4, 2004
- Flash Flooding in Indiana, September 3 to 4, 2004
- Rip Current in Delaware, September 3 to 7, 2004
- Waterspout in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, September 3, 2004
- Wildfire in California, September 3, 2004
- Wildfire in Colorado, September 3 to 4, 2004
- Hail in Michigan, September 3, 2004
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, September 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: 5431607.