High Surf in Hawaii, February 6 to 9, 2005

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, February 6 to 9, 2005
Start: 2005-02-06T12:00
End: 2005-02-09T19:00
Location: Hawaii

February 6 to 9, 2005 · NWS HFO · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A storm low far northwest of the state generated surf of 12 to 18 feet along the west- and north-facing shores of Niihau and Kauai, and 6 to 12 feet along the west-facing shores of the Big Island of Hawaii. There were no reports of serious injuries or property damage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

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 6, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 6, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1000 AM HST SUN FEB 6 2005

.SYNOPSIS...
A SURFACE TROUGH TO OUR WEST WILL KEEP THE WINDS LIGHT TODAY.
RIDGING ALOFT WILL MAKE THE ATMOSPHERE VERY STABLE SO RAINFALL WILL
BE MINIMAL. A RIDGE BUILDING NORTH OF THE ISLANDS WILL RETURN TRADE
WINDS BY TOMORROW MORNING. THE TRADES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
WEDNESDAY. WINDS WILL WEAKEN AND SHIFT TO SOUTHEAST WEDNESDAY NIGHT
AS A FRONT APPROACHES. THE FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST OVER THE
ISLANDS FRIDAY BRINGING CLOUDS AND SHOWERS AND BREEZY NORTH WINDS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
QUIKSCAT WIND DATA SHOW A SURFACE TROUGH WEST OF KAUAI KEEPING
WINDS LIGHT OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. WITH WEAK LOW LEVEL
FLOW...LAND BREEZES DEVELOPED LAST NIGHT BRINGING CLEAR SKIES THIS
MORNING. SATELLITE IMAGERY AND OBSERVATIONS STILL SHOW ISOLATED
CLOUDS OVER THE ISLANDS EXCEPT FOR BROKEN LOW CLOUDS OVER THE
SOUTHEAST SLOPES OF THE BIG ISLAND.

THE TROUGH WILL KEEP WINDS LIGHT ENOUGH TODAY FOR SEA BREEZES TO
DEVELOP. THE UPSLOPE FLOW WILL PRODUCE AFTERNOON CLOUDINESS. IT WILL
REMAIN MOSTLY DRY OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS BUT SOME AFTERNOON
SHOWERS CAN BE EXPECTED OVER THE LOWER SLOPES OF THE BIG ISLAND.

LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL REMAIN WEAK ENOUGH FOR LAND BREEZES TO DEVELOP
THIS EVENING AND CLEAR OUT THE AFTERNOON CLOUDS. AS THE TROUGH WEST
OF THE ISLANDS WEAKENS AND THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE BUILDS TO OUR
NORTH...TRADE WINDS WILL RETURN BY MORNING.

THE RIDGE WILL SUPPORT LIGHT TO MODERATE TRADES THROUGH WEDNESDAY
EVENING. CLOUDS AND SHOWERS WILL BE CONCENTRATED OVER WINDWARD
AREAS...BUT WITH RIDGING ALOFT...RAINFALL WILL REMAIN LIGHT.

THE MODELS ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT SHOWING THAT THE SUBTROPICAL
RIDGE WILL MOVE SOUTH TOWARDS THE ISLANDS WEDNESDAY EVENING AS A
TROUGH ALOFT AND AN ASSOCIATED SURFACE FRONT MOVE TOWARDS THE
ISLANDS FROM THE NORTHWEST. WINDS WILL WEAKEN AND SHIFT TO SOUTHEAST
AS THE FRONT APPROACHES. WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHT AND VARIABLE AS THE
SUBTROPICAL RIDGE MOVES OVER THE ISLANDS.

THE GFS150 SHOWS THE FRONT WILL REACH KAUAI BY FRIDAY MORNING AND
MOVE SOUTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS BY SATURDAY NIGHT. THAT IS FAR ENOUGH
OUT FOR THE FORECAST TO CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN NOW AND THEN.
IF THE GFS IS CORRECT...BREEZY NORTH WINDS WILL FOLLOW BEHIND THE
FRONT WITH TRADE WINDS AGAIN BY VALENTINES DAY.

&&

.MARINE...
A WEST NORTHWEST SWELL WILL BUILD TODAY...PUTTING ADVISORY LEVEL
SURF ALONG THE NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF KAUAI AND NIIHAU THIS
MORNING AND THE WEST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND THIS AFTERNOON.
THE OTHER ISLANDS SHOULD BE IN THE SWELL SHADOW OF KAUAI WITH SURF
HEIGHTS BELOW ADVISORY LEVELS.

A TRADE WIND SWELL WILL CONTINUE TO BRING SURF OF 6 TO 8 FEET WITH
OCCASIONAL HIGHER SETS TO EAST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND
THROUGH TONIGHT. SEE THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR DETAILS.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF KAUAI AND
NIIHAU THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR WEST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT.
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR EAST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND THROUGH
TONIGHT.

&&

DONALDSON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Kohala

When: February 6, 12:00 PM HST to February 9, 7:00 PM HST
Where: Kohala forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kona

When: February 6, 12:00 PM HST to February 9, 7:00 PM HST
Where: Kona forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kauai Leeward

When: February 6, 12:00 PM HST to February 9, 7:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai Leeward forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kauai Windward

When: February 6, 12:00 PM HST to February 9, 7:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Niihau

When: February 6, 12:00 PM HST to February 9, 7:00 PM HST
Where: Niihau forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Surf: Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Hawaii in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5441534, 5441535, 5441536, 5441537, 5441538.