Flash Flood, Hawaii
- When
- February 4, 2:30 AM HST to 2:13 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, Volcano
- Reported by
- GOVT OFFICIAL
- Coordinates
- 19.417, -155.233
Flash Flood in Hawaii, February 4, 2005
Heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms produced significant flooding across Highway 11 at Kawa Flats, between Pahala and Naalehu, in the Kau District on the Big Island of Hawaii. Several schools were forced to close because of the flooding across the highway.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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 and isolated thunderstorms produced significant flooding across Highway 11 at Kawa Flats, between Pahala and Naalehu, in the Kau District on the Big Island of Hawaii. Several schools were forced to close because of the flooding across the highway. 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 Feb 3, 8:45 PM HST, 5 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 3, 8:45 PM HST, 5 hours 45 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 845 PM HST THU FEB 3 2005 CORRECTED ISSUANCE TIME ABOVE .SYNOPSIS... A TROUGH OVER THE ISLANDS WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE THREAT OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE FROM MAUI TO THE BIG ISLAND DUE TO INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH. CLOUD COVER AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF HEAVY SHOWERS WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE AS THE TROUGH WEAKENS. WITH THE TROUGH WEAKENING...TRADEWINDS HAVE SPREAD OVER THE ISLANDS FROM KAUAI TO MAUI. WHEN THE TROUGH DISSIPATES...TRADE WINDS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... A STUBBORN TROUGH OVER THE ISLANDS BOTH AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT CONTINUES TO PRODUCE SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING...CONCENTRATED MAINLY OVER MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND. OAHU AND KAUAI ARE FURTHEST REMOVED FROM THE ACTION AT THE MOMENT...BUT NOT NECESSARILY OUT OF THE WOODS COMPLETELY. AT THE MOMENT...THE HEAVIEST SHOWERS ARE FALLING ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF THE BIG ISLAND...BUT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOTED OVER AND AROUND MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND. WILL UPDATE THE FORECAST TO INCREASE SHOWERS ACROSS THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI...AND EXPAND MENTION OF ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO COVER MOLOKAI AND LANAI. WINDS FROM KAUAI THROUGH MOLOKAI OR SO ARE FROM THE NORTHEAST...BUT WITH TROUGH AXIS TO CLOSE BY...HAVE A HARD TIME CALLING THEM TRADES. IN ANY CASE...EXPECT RAINFALL TO FAVOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS FOR THE TIME BEING...ESPECIALLY FOR KAUAI AND OAHU. CURRENT AREA COVERED BY THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS SUFFICIENT. MOLOKAI AND LANAI..BEING RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF WHERE THE SHOWERS ARE CONCENTRATED...MIGHT STILL SEE A FEW HEAVY SHOWERS AND/OR THUNDERSTORMS OVERNIGHT. THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS AND THE CURRENT SCENARIO HAVE BEEN A TOUGH FORECAST THUS FAR...AND THE MODELS WE HAVE COME TO DEPEND UPON FOR GUIDANCE HAVE LACKED RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY. WITH TRADES EARLIER EXPECTED BY THE WEEKEND...IT NOW APPEARS THAT THE TROUGH WILL LINGER OVER THE ISLANDS A BIT LONGER IN A WEAKENED STATE...RATHER THAN DRIFT OFF TOWARD THE EAST. IN FACT...GFS IS NOW ADVERTISING THE TROUGH TO SHIFT WESTWARD...ESSENTIALLY SHUTTING OFF THE TRADES OVER THE WEEKEND. WITH AMPLE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AROUND...MIGHT BE IN FOR A MUGGY COUPLE OF DAYS. AS SUCH...OUR DATE WITH THE TRADEWINDS IS STILL UP IN THE AIR...BUT WE ARE CURRENTLY SHOOTING FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR MAUI KAHOOLAWE AND THE BIG ISLAND THROUGH TONIGHT. && TANABE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, February 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: 5441530.