Name: Flash Flood in Hawaii, September 23, 2005
Start: 2005-09-23T17:12
End: 2005-09-23T20:35
Location: Hawaii

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

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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.

Drenching downpours from showers and thunderstorms caused flooding along portions of Kamehameha Highway in windward coastal sections of Oahu. Streets became flooded near the Windward Mall in Kaneohe, and some homes suffered flood damage in Hauula. No damage estimated were available, however. There were no reports of serious 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 Sep 23, 4:00 PM HST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 23, 4:00 PM HST, 1 hour 12 minutes before

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
400 PM HST FRI SEP 23 2005

.SYNOPSIS...
A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS OVER THE STATE WILL MAINTAIN THE THREAT
OF LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE EARLY
EVENING..AND AGAIN SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE THREAT WILL DIMINISH
SUNDAY AS THE UPPER LOW RESPONSIBLE FOR THE UNSTABLE CONDITIONS
MOVES AWAY FROM THE STATE. EXPECT A GRADUAL SHIFT TOWARD TRADE WIND
WEATHER OVER THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...TROPICAL STORM JOVA...CURRENTLY 300 MILES NORTHEAST OF
HILO...CONTINUES TO WEAKEN ON A TRACK THAT IS NOT EXPECTED CROSS THE
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. WHILE JOVA ITSELF WILL NOT AFFECT THE STATE
DIRECTLY...WE WILL FEEL INDIRECT IMPACTS IN THE WAY OF LIGHT TRADES
AND A MOIST AIRMASS. IN ADDITION...THE SAME TROUGH WHICH IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR TURNING JOVA ON A NORTHWESTWARD TRACK TO THE EAST OF
THE ISLANDS...IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR THE UNSTABLE AIRMASS IN PLACE
OVER THE ISLANDS.

WEATHER WISE...OAHU LIVED UP TO ITS NICKNAME AS THE GATHERING PLACE
TODAY AS HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AFFECTED SEVERAL AREAS OF
THE ISLANDS. WHILE AFTERNOON HEATING COMBINED WITH THE UNSTABLE
AIRMASS PRODUCED CLOUDS AND SHOWERS ACROSS ALL ISLANDS TODAY...OAHU
WAS HIT HARDEST AS THE NORMALLY WESTWARD EXTENDING BIG ISLAND PLUME
DRIFTED NORTHWARD AND OVER OAHU...PROVIDING AN ADDITIONAL BOOST.
REPORTS OF HEAVY RAINFALL...THUNDER AND LIGHTNING STARTED TO COME IN
FROM THE WINDWARD SIDE JUST BEFORE LUNCH AND CONTINUED THROUGH THE
EARLY AFTERNOON. OVER THE SIX HOUR PERIOD ENDING AT 2 PM HST...SOME
IMPRESSIVE RAINFALL TOTALS WERE NOTED ALONG THE KOOLAUS.
LULUKU...WAIHEE...AND AHUIMANU RECORDED 2.22 2.64 AND 3.71
INCHES...RESPECTIVELY. LATER...HEAVY RAINFALL AFFECTED THE NORTH
SHORE AREA BETWEEN HALEIWA AND MOKULEIA PROMPTING THE ISSUANCE OF A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING.

AS THE HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE DUE IN PART TO THE
AFTERNOON HEATING...EXPECT THE SHOWERS TO DIMINISH AS THE EVENING
PROGRESSES. ON SATURDAY...ANTICIPATE THE MORNING WILL START OFF
PRETTY GOOD...SIMILAR TO TODAY...BUT CONDITIONS REMAIN CONDUCIVE FOR
ANOTHER ROUND OF LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS IN
THE AFTERNOON. WILL ONLY MENTION THUNDERSTORMS FOR KAUAI AND
OAHU..AS THEY ARE CLOSEST TO THE UPPER LOW. ON SUNDAY...STILL EXPECT
AFTERNOON CLOUDS AND SHOWERS BUT CHANCE FOR HEAVY SHOWERS WILL
DIMINISH SIGNIFICANTLY AS RIDGING OVERHEAD PUSHES THE UPPER LOW
FURTHER AWAY FROM THE ISLANDS.

EXPECT A GRADUAL CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN TOWARD TRADE WIND
CONDITIONS EARLY NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...TROPICAL STORM KENNETH IS
LURKING OVER 1100 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF HILO...AND IS FORECAST TO
CROSS 140W SOMETIME SUNDAY NIGHT. EFFECTS OF KENNETH...IF ANY...ON
THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS REMAIN MORE THAN A WEEK AWAY.

&&

.MARINE...
SURF ACROSS EAST FACING SHORES FROM TROPICAL STORM JOVA HAVE FALLEN
BELOW THE ADVISORY LEVEL OF 8 FEET...THUS THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY HAS
BEEN CANCELLED.

&&

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

&&

TANABE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 23, 11:57 AM HST, 5 hours 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1157 AM HST FRI SEP 23 2005

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

1110 AM     LIGHTNING        3 SW KAILUA             21.37N 157.77W
09/23/2005                   HONOLULU           HI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            THUNDER AND LIGHTNING OVER PALI.

1135 AM     HEAVY RAIN       KANEOHE                 21.41N 157.79W
09/23/2005  0.00 INCH        HONOLULU           HI   PUBLIC

1126 AM     LIGHTNING        KAILUA                  21.40N 157.74W
09/23/2005                   HONOLULU           HI   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            HPD REPORTED THAT LIGHTNING HIT A TREE IN KAILUA.

&&

MFARNSWO

Local storm report, Sep 23, 1:39 PM HST, 3 hours 33 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
139 PM HST FRI SEP 23 2005

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

0104 PM     HEAVY RAIN       HALAWA                  21.38N 157.92W
09/23/2005  0.00 INCH        HONOLULU           HI   EMERGENCY MNGR

            MINOR FLOODING IN HALAWA VALLEY

&&

LREED

Local storm report, Sep 23, 4:25 PM HST, 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
425 PM HST FRI SEP 23 2005

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

0400 PM     FLOOD            3 S KANEOHE             21.37N 157.79W
09/23/2005                   HONOLULU           HI   NWS EMPLOYEE

            FLOODED ROADWAYS FROM KANEOHE TO PALI GOLF COURSE.

&&

NH

Local storm report, Sep 23, 4:42 PM HST, 30 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
442 PM HST FRI SEP 23 2005

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

0438 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     MILILANI TOWN           21.45N 158.02W
09/23/2005                   HONOLULU           HI   EMERGENCY MNGR

&&

LREED

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Honolulu

When: September 23, 5:12 PM HST to 8:35 PM HST
Where: Honolulu County, Hauula
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 21.617, -157.900

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 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, September 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: 5475588.