Heavy Rain, Honolulu
- When
- August 29, 12:52 PM HST to 5:15 PM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, Wahiawa
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, August 29, 2005
Heavy showers in central, western, and southwestern sections of Oahu caused ponding of roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding. A small landslide was reported by Civil Defense across Farrington Highway, near Makua.
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.
Heavy showers in central, western, and southwestern sections of Oahu caused ponding of roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding. A small landslide was reported by Civil Defense across Farrington Highway, near Makua. However, 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 Aug 29, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 29, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 52 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST MON AUG 29 2005 .SYNOPSIS... WITH A TROUGH ALOFT JUST NORTHWEST OF KAUAI AND A TROUGH AT THE SURFACE OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...THE ATMOSPHERE IS RIPE FOR SOME HEAVY SHOWERS TODAY. ADD IN THE ADDITIONAL FACTOR OF THE CONVERGENT AIR IN THE BIG ISLAND PLUME...AND WE HAVE ADDED SOME HEAVY SHOWERS AND THE CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TO THE KAUAI...OAHU AND BIG ISLAND FORECASTS FOR THIS AFTERNOON. TRADE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO MAKE THEIR RETURN BY WEDNESDAY. && .DISCUSSION... THE SYNOPTIC WIND FLOW OVER THE ISLANDS IS LIGHT SOUTHEAST UP TO ABOUT 10 THOUSAND FEET. THIS IS CAUSING THE CONVERGENT PLUME OF AIR AND MOISTURE IN THE LEE OF THE BIG ISLAND TO MEANDER NORTHWESTWARD AND IN THE DIRECTION OF OAHU. THE PRESENCE OF A TROUGH ALOFT NEARBY NORTHWEST OF KAUAI AND THE INSTABILITY THAT ACCOMPANIES IT COULD SPELL TROUBLE FOR THE ISLANDS OF KAUAI AND OAHU LATER TODAY AS SEA BREEZES BRING MID-ISLAND CONVERGENCE AND CUMULUS BUILDUPS TO THESE ISLANDS. THUS ISOLATED HEAVY SHOWERS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE FORECAST ALONG WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE AFTERNOON HOURS FOR THESE ISLANDS. THE BIG ISLAND...WHICH IS LARGE ENOUGH TO MAKE ITS OWN WEATHER EVEN ON NORMAL TRADE WIND DAYS...HAS ALSO BEEN INCLUDED IN THE FORECAST FOR ISOLATED HEAVY SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS LATER TODAY...DESPITE THE GREATER STABILITY OF THE AIR MASS OVER THAT END OF THE STATE. IN THE GFS MODEL...A WEAK CIRCULATION AT 500 MB ALSO SENDS A FINGER OF POSITIVE VORTICITY ACROSS KAUAI AND OAHU LATER TODAY...THIS CAN ONLY INCREASE THE CHANCES FOR DEEP CONVECTION DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. EVEN BY TUESDAY...THE SYNOPTIC LOW LEVEL WIND FLOW BECOMES MORE EASTERLY...SO TODAY IS LIKELY THE ONLY DAY WHERE THESE HEAVY SHOWERS MAY BECOME A REALITY. AS THE WEEK WEARS ON...HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING TO OUR NORTHEAST INCREASE THESE TRADE WINDS TO GENERALLY MODERATE LEVELS...SO MORE COMFORTABLE...AND MORE TYPICAL HAWAIIAN SUMMER WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. && .UPDATE... UPDATED FORECASTS FOR ISOLATED HEAVY SHOWERS AND CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS KAUAI...OAHU AND THE BIG ISLAND DUE TO ABOVE REASONING. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && FARRELL
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Hurricane in Mississippi, August 29, 2005
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Georgia, August 29, 2005
- Storm Surge in Louisiana, August 29, 2005
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Kentucky, August 29 to 30, 2005
- Storm Surge in Mississippi, August 29, 2005
- Tropical Storm in Alabama, August 29 to 30, 2005
- Hurricane in Louisiana, August 29, 2005
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, August 29, 2005
- Tornado in Mississippi, August 29, 2005
- Flash Flooding in Mississippi, August 29, 2005
- Hurricane in Arkansas, August 29, 2005
- Flash Flooding in West Virginia, August 29, 2005
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, August 2005
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: 5469489.