Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 9 to 10, 2005

Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 9 to 10, 2005
Start: 2005-03-09T20:45
End: 2005-03-10T08:45
Location: Hawaii

March 9 to 10, 2005 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy showers caused ponding of roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding in windward East and West Maui, and windward sections of Molokai. Gusty south winds with the showers broke several boats loose from their moorings and forced them aground in and around Lahaina in leeward West Maui.

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

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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.

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 Mar 9, 8:30 PM HST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 9, 8:30 PM HST, 15 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST WED MAR 9 2005

SYNOPSIS...
LINGERING CLOUDS AND SHOWERS FROM THE WEAKENING FRONT ARE EXPECTED
TO AFFECT THE OUR AREA...SPECIALLY BIG ISLAND THROUGH THURSDAY.
MODERATE TRADE WINDS WILL BUILD OVERNIGHT AND LAST THROUGH
THURSDAY...AS A HIGH PRESSURE PASSES NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. WINDS
WILL WEAKEN ON FRIDAY AS A TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP NEAR THE
ISLANDS AND WILL MOVE WEST OVER THE WEEKEND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
LOOKS LIKE THE WEAK FRONT HAS CAUGHT UP WITH THE PREFRONTAL RAIN
BAND THIS EVENING...WITH WINDS ALREADY SHIFTING TO THE NORTH OVER
THE MAUI COUNTY. THERE ARE STILL ISOLATED HEAVY RAIN AFFECTING THE
NORTHERN PORTION OF MAUI THIS EVENING...THOUGH THESE SHOULD BE
ENDING IN THE COMING HOURS AS MORE STABLE AIR SPREADS IN FROM THE
NORTH. BIG ISLAND WILL BE THE FOCUS THIS EVENING AS LINGERING
MOISTURE AND CONVERGING WINDS PROVIDE A GOOD ENVIRONMENT FOR HEAVIER
RAIN TO DEVELOP. SHALL CLOSELY MONITOR THE SITUATION.

MODERATE TRADE WINDS WILL BE BUILDING OVERNIGHT BEHIND THE
DISSIPATING FRONT THROUGH THURSDAY...AS A HIGH PRESSURE IS EXPECTED
TO PASS NORTH OF THE STATE. WITH THE RETURN OF THE NORTHEAST TRADE
WINDS AND THE LINGERING MOISTURE FROM THE DISSIPATING FRONT...EXPECT
THE MORE USUAL WINDWARD AND MAUKA CLOUDS AND SHOWERS TO AFFECT OUR
ISLANDS. SINCE AIR MASS WILL BE MORE STABLE...THOSE SHOWERS WILL
REMAIN PRETTY LIGHT THOUGH STRONGER TRADE WINDS MAY CARRY SOME OF
THESE LIGHT SHOWERS TO THE LEE SIDE ON THE SMALLER ISLANDS.

FORECAST CHARTS INDICATE A FAST MOVING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH FROM THE
NORTHWEST WILL GET CLOSE TO OUR ISLANDS FRIDAY. IN RESPONSE...A
SURFACE TROUGH WILL SLOWLY DEVELOP NEAR OUR AREA...WITH SURFACE
WINDS BECOMING LIGHT. AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES ACROSS OUR
VICINITY SATURDAY...AIR MASS WILL BECOME UNSTABLE AGAIN...PROVIDING
A FAVORABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP. FORECAST
CHARTS INDICATE THIS TROUGH WILL SWIFTLY MOVE NORTHEASTWARD
SUNDAY...WITH CONDITIONS IMPROVING OVER OUR AREA. ON THE OTHER
HAND...A DEEP LOW IS EXPECTED TO FORM NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. IT LOOKS
LIKE THE WEATHER MAY TURN UNSETTLED ONCE AGAIN FOR EARLY NEXT
WEEK...AS WE MAY SEE YET ANOTHER FRONT PUSHING ACROSS OUR ISLANDS.
THE MODEL SOLUTION HAS CHANGED IN THE LONG TERM FOR THIS TIME
AND SHALL CHECK OUT FUTURE MODEL RUNS BEFORE ADJUSTING THE PACKAGE
ACCORDINGLY. THE CURRENT PACKAGE IS ON TRACK FOR THE SHORT TERM THUS
NO CHANGES AT THIS TIME.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

NIIHAU KAUAI OAHU -
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR N AND W FACING SHORES THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.

MAUI MOLOKAI -
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR N FACING SHORES THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.

BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII -
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR W FACING SHORES THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.

&&

HUI

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 9, 5:06 PM HST, 3 hours 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
506 PM HST WED MAR 09 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0435 PM     HAIL             KAHULUI                 20.87N 156.46W
03/09/2005  0.25 INCH        MAUI               HI   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

            HAIL FELL FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES.

&&

RAB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Maui

When: March 9, 8:45 PM HST to March 10, 8:45 AM HST
Where: Maui County, Kalaupapa
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Hawaii in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, March 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: 5439587.