Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, May 24, 2005
Start: 2005-05-24T13:41
End: 2005-05-24T15:41
Location: Hawaii

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 on the lee slopes of Haleakala in East Maui produced small stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding of roadways. The communities most affected were Wailea, Makena, and Ulupalakua. No serious injuries or property damage were reported, however.

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 May 24, 9:30 AM HST, 4 hours 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 24, 9:30 AM HST, 4 hours 11 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
930 AM HST TUE MAY 24 2005

.SYNOPSIS...
AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE IN COMBINATION WITH AN AREA OF MOISTURE TO
THE NORTHEAST RIDING ON THE TRADES...WILL ALLOW BRIEF HEAVY SHOWERS
OVER MAUI COUNTY AND SLOPES OF THE BIG ISLAND...AND A CHANCE OF
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS. OTHERWISE HIGH PRESSURE NORTH
OF THE ISLANDS WILL KEEP TRADE WINDS WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER
WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH ORIENTED NORTHEAST THROUGH SOUTHWEST OVER THE
MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HAS DESTABILIZED THE ATMOSPHERE...ALLOWING
CONVECTION TO OCCUR LAST NIGHT WEST OF KAUAI AND NOW AN AREA ABOUT
55 MILES NORTHEAST OF MAUI. THIS FEATURE HAS REMAINED IN TACT FOR
THE LAST FEW DAYS AND NOW UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE UPPER
TROUGH...IS EXPECTED TO BRING A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE
COASTAL WATERS NORTHEAST OF MAUI COUNTY AND BRIEF HEAVY SHOWERS TO
MAUI COUNTY TODAY. HAVE INCREASED CLOUD COVERAGE AND CHANCE OF
PRECIPITATION OVER THE WINDWARD SIDES OF MAUI COUNTY TODAY. THIS
UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SHOULD STAY OVER THE ISLANDS FOR THE REMAINDER OF
THE WEEK MAKING SHOWERS THAT DO FORM LIKELY TO BE HEAVIER THAN MOST
TRADE WIND SHOWERS.

AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT 36 TO 42 HOURS...THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD
AGREEMENT WITH THE HANDLING OF THE SURFACE FEATURES. A WEAK RIDGE TO
THE NORTH WILL BE REPLACED BY A HIGH PRESSURE CENTER...THAT WILL
USHER IN SOME STRONGER TRADES FOR THE MIDDLE PART OF THE WEEK. AS
THE HIGH MOVES OFF TO THE EAST...THE ASSOCIATED RIDGE WILL KEEP
LIGHTER TRADE WINDS IN THE FORECAST.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE
&&

REED/WROE

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: May 24, 1:41 PM HST to 3:41 PM HST
Where: Maui County, Wailea
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

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, May 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: 5446176.