Heavy Rain, Maui
- When
- January 2, 7:30 AM HST to 3:00 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, Countywide
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, January 2, 2005
Heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms produced ponding of roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding across the isles of Molokai, Lanai, and Maui. Some localized flooding of residential streets was not uncommon on all three islands.
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 and isolated thunderstorms produced ponding of roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding across the isles of Molokai, Lanai, and Maui. Some localized flooding of residential streets was not uncommon on all three islands. However, no serious property damage or injuries were reported.
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 Jan 2, 7:20 AM HST, 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 2, 7:20 AM HST, 10 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 720 AM HST SUN JAN 2 2005 .SYNOPSIS... KAUAI AND OAHU WILL SEE SOME SUNSHINE TODAY AS THE DRIER AND MORE STABLE POST FRONTAL AIRMASS SETTLES IN. THE COLD FRONT OVER MAUI COUNTY WILL CONTINUE TO CREEP TOWARD THE BIG ISLAND TODAY...THEN STALL WHILE DISSIPATING IN THE VICINITY OF THE BIG ISLAND TONIGHT. COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT...COMBINED WITH THE MOISTURE WILL BRING SOME WINTER WEATHER TO THE SUMMITS OF THE BIG ISLAND TODAY AS WELL. THE WORK WEEK FORECAST LOOKS MUCH DRIER EXCEPT FOR THE BIG ISLAND...WHERE REMNANTS OF THE FRONT MAY LINGER. && .UPDATE... UPDATING GRIDS AND TEXT PRODUCTS TO REFLECT STRONGER WINDS FOR THE KONA SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND. PHKO CONTINUES TO REPORT BRISK SOUTH WINDS AROUND 20 KT GUSTING TO NEAR 30 KT AT TIMES. NO CHANGES TO THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AND PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FROM 4 AM FOLLOWS. && .PREV DISCUSSION... THOSE ON KAUAI MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT THE SUN LOOKS LIKE...BUT THEY WILL BE PLEASANTLY REMINDED TODAY. BLUE SKIES SHOULD BE A WELCOME SIGHT AFTER THE SWAMPING THEY RECEIVED THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. A PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT WAS ISSUED LAST NIGHT TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPRESSIVE RAINFALL TOTALS ACROSS KAUAI FOR THIS STORM EVENT. SHOWERS HAVE ALL BUT ENDED ACROSS OAHU...BUT NOT BEFORE A DECENT LINE IN THE POST FRONTAL AIRMASS MANAGED ONE LAST SOAKING OVERNIGHT. RAIN RATES WITH THIS BAND OF SHOWERS REACHED ONE TO ONE AND A HALF INCHES PER HOUR...BUT THE LINE PASSED THROUGH RATHER QUICKLY. RAINFALL AT THE HONOLULU AIRPORT YESTERDAY SET A RECORD AT 1.61 INCHES. WHILE RESIDUAL MOISTURE WILL START THINGS OFF MOSTLY CLOUDY OVER OAHU THIS MORNING...EXPECT TO SEE MORE AND MORE SUNSHINE BREAK THROUGH AS THE DAY PROGRESSES. THE FRONT CONTINUES TO CRAWL ITS WAY ACROSS MAUI COUNTY AT 10 TO 15 MILES AN HOUR...BUT THE MOST ACTIVE AREA OF SHOWERS REMAINS IN THE PREFRONTAL CONVERGENCE AREA OVER THE BIG ISLAND. SKIES ACROSS MAUI COUNTY SHOULD REMAIN MOSTLY CLOUDY TODAY...BUT SHOWERS WILL STEADILY DECREASE IN COVERAGE. THE BIG ISLAND WAS THE LAST TO SEE THE SHOWERS...AND WILL THUS BE THE LAST TO FINISH. MODELS OVER THE PAST DAY OR SO HAVE CONSISTENTLY ADVERTISED THE REMNANTS OF THIS FRONT TO LINGER AROUND THE BIG ISLAND FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...BUT IN A MUCH WEAKENED STATE...SO CLOUDS AND INTERMITTENT SHOWERS MAY HANG AROUND FOR A WHILE. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE BIG ISLAND...THE WORK WEEK FORECAST APPEARS DRIER BUT THE MECHANISM BEHIND THIS IS A BIT MORE UNCLEAR. MODELS WERE EARLIER SUGGESTING THE LOW TO OUR NORTH WOULD PULL FURTHER TO THE NORTHEAST AND A WEAK RIDGE WOULD SETTLE IN NORTH OF THE ISLANDS...RESULTING IN LIGHT TRADES. MORE RECENT RUNS HAVE PAINTED A MORE COMPLICATED PICTURE IN THE NORTH PACIFIC...WHICH RESULTS IN THE LOW REMAINING TO OUR NORTH...KEEPING A WEAK RIDGE TO THE SOUTH...AND NORTHEAST TO NORTH WINDS ACROSS THE STATE. IN EITHER CASE...AIRMASS WILL BE MORE STABLE AND DRIER THAT WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING FOR MORE SUNSHINE AND LESS SHOWERS. THE DIFFERENCE WILL BE IN TEMPERATURES...WITH THE NORTH TO NORTHWEST FLOW PATTERN BEING THE COOLER SOLUTION BY A COUPLE OF DEGREES OR SO. && .MARINE... THE NORTHWEST SWELL WE ARE WATCHING HAS ALREADY REACHED BUOY 51001 NORTHWEST OF KAUAI. SURF IS EXPECTED TO STEADILY INCREASE TODAY AND PEAK TONIGHT. ADVISORY LEVEL SURF IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE NORTH AND WEST SHORES OF MOST ISLANDS. SURF WILL APPROACH WARNING LEVELS TONIGHT AND THE ADVISORIES MIGHT HAVE TO BE UPGRADED. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TODAY FOR THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS ABOVE 13000 FT && R BALLARD
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
- Flash Flooding in Texas, January 2 to 3, 2005
- Winter Weather in Vermont, January 2, 2005
- Winter Weather in New York, January 2, 2005
- Winter Weather in Vermont, January 2, 2005
- Winter Weather in New York, January 2, 2005
- Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Michigan, January 2, 2005
- High Surf in Hawaii, January 2 to 7, 2005
- Ice Storm and Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 2 to 5, 2005
- Winter Weather in Kansas, January 2 to 3, 2005
- Strong Wind in Vermont, January 2, 2005
- Ice Storm in Nebraska, January 2 to 3, 2005
- Flash Flooding and Winter Storm in California, January 2 to 4, 2005
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 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: 5435249.