High Surf in Hawaii, February 2 to 3, 2006

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, February 2 to 3, 2006
Start: 2006-02-02T05:00
End: 2006-02-03T18:00
Location: Hawaii

February 2 to 3, 2006 · NWS HFO · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

A strong low northwest of the Aloha State generated surf of 16 to 22 feet along the north-facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, and Maui; 8 to 12 feet along the west-facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, and Molokai; and 4 to 8 feet along the west-facing shores of the Big Island of Hawaii. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 13

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 2, 3:31 AM HST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 3:31 AM HST, 1 hour 29 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
331 AM HST THU FEB 2 2006

.SYNOPSIS...
A COLD FRONT WILL REACH KAUAI THIS MORNING...OAHU THIS AFTERNOON...
AND MAUI COUNTY THIS EVENING. THE FRONT WILL WEAKEN AND LIKELY
STALL NEAR THE BIG ISLAND LATE TONIGHT OR EARLY ON FRIDAY. A BAND
OF CLOUDS AND SOME SHOWERS WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT...WITH STRONGER
NORTHERLY WINDS FOLLOWING BEHIND IT. OUR WINDS WILL BECOME TRADES
ACROSS THE STATE BY FRIDAY...AND REMAIN RATHER BRISK THROUGH THE
WEEKEND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
ISOLATED SHOWERS HAVE DEVELOPED IN THE WEAK PREFRONTAL CONVERGENCE
AHEAD OF THE FRONT...AND THE EARLIER RATHER MARKED SUBSIDENCE ZONE
HAS DISAPPEARED. THE LEADING EDGE OF THE FRONTAL CLOUD BAND WAS
ABOUT 90 MILES NW OF THE NA PALI COAST ON KAUAI AT 3 AM...AND MOVING
SOUTHEAST AT ABOUT 20 MPH.

EXTRAPOLATION AND MODEL GUIDANCE SUGGESTS THE FRONTAL CLOUD BAND
SHOULD REACH KAUAI BY MID-MORNING...AND SPREAD TO OAHU DURING THE
AFTERNOON. THE CLOUDINESS WITH THIS BAND DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE
PARTICULARLY SHOWERY...THOUGH THE DEEPER MOISTURE WITH THE BAND
WILL SQUEEZE OUT SOME RAINFALL...PARTICULARLY WHEN IT INTERACTS
WITH ISLAND TERRAIN. WE HAVE PAINTED CHANCE CATEGORY POPS OVER THE
COASTAL WATERS AND LOWER ELEVATIONS...WITH LIKELY POPS IN MAUKA
SECTIONS.

WINDS WILL LIKELY BE A BIT SQUIRRLY TODAY. WATCHING BUOY 51001
TONIGHT...THE WINDS PICKED UP BETWEEN 07-09Z AS THE COLD FRONT CAME
THROUGH...BUT SINCE HAVE SETTLED DOWN. LOW CLOUD MOTIONS FARTHER
UPSTREAM SUGGEST THAT STRONGER NORTHERLIES ARE SOON TO FOLLOW.
HAVE NOT TRIED TO GET TOO FANCY WITH THE MESOSCALE DETAILS OF THE
WINDS TODAY...AND MAINTAIN A RATHER ABRUPT INCREASE IN WIND SPEEDS
TO AROUND 20 KT SPREADING FROM NW TO SE AFTER THE FRONT COMES
THROUGH.

THE FRONT SHOULD HAVE ENOUGH UPPER SUPPORT TO CONTINUE SE TO MAUI
COUNTY DURING THE EVENING...BUT IT WILL BE SLOWING AND PROBABLY
STARTING TO LOSE ITS IDENTITY SOMEWHAT. GFS AND NAM MODEL FORECAST
SOUNDINGS BEHIND THE FRONT TONIGHT SUGGEST THAT ALTHOUGH THE LOWER
LAYERS WILL DRY OUT SOMEWHAT...THERE WILL BE STEEP LAPSE RATES AND
ENOUGH CAPE TO KEEP AT LEAST A FEW SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST.

THERE IS GOOD MODEL AGREEMENT THAT THE HIGH TRAILING BEHIND THE
FRONT WILL SLOWLY MOVE EASTWARD...PASSING NORTH OF THE ISLANDS
SATURDAY NIGHT. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE STATE WILL SUPPORT
MODERATE TO LOCALLY FRESH TRADES THROUGH THE WEEKEND. TRADES WILL
WEAKEN ON MONDAY AS THE RIDGE WILL ONCE AGAIN BE SHUNTED SOUTH
AHEAD OF THE NEXT WEAK FRONT. GLOBAL MODEL CONSENSUS IS THAT THE
FRONT SHOULD MAKE ITS TRIP THROUGH THE ISLANDS ON TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK.

&&

.MARINE...
BOTH SWELL AND WINDS WILL BE A CONCERN TODAY. WAVEWATCH III AND
BUOY DATA SUGGEST HIGH END ADVISORY CRITERIA SURF WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH TONIGHT AND GRADUALLY DECLINING ON FRIDAY. WINDS WILL BE
FLIRTING WITH SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CRITERIA BEHIND THE FRONT LATER
TODAY INTO TONIGHT...BUT MAY EASE JUST A BIT FOR FRIDAY.

A POWERFUL LOW DEVELOPING IN THE NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC IS FORECAST
TO SWEEP EASTWARD...SENDING A VERY LARGE NW SWELL OUR WAY BY
SUNDAY. THE GLOBAL MODELS SEEM TO HAVE RATHER GOOD AGREEMENT ON
THE EVOLUTION OF THIS FEATURE. THUS...WARNING LEVEL SURF IS
BECOMING MORE LIKELY FOR SUNDAY.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY FOR NORTH AND WEST
FACING SHORES OF NIIHAU-KAUAI-OAHU-MOLOKAI.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY FOR NORTH FACING SHORES
OF MAUI.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY FOR WEST FACING SHORES
OF THE BIG ISLAND.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 6 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 AM HST SATURDAY
FOR PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND WINDWARD WATERS-
BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST WATERS.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST SATURDAY FOR KAUAI NORTHWEST
WATERS-KAUAI WINDWARD WATERS-KAUAI LEEWARD WATERS-KAUAI CHANNEL-
OAHU WINDWARD WATERS-OAHU LEEWARD WATERS-KAIWI CHANNEL-MAUI COUNTY
WINDWARD WATERS-MAUI COUNTY LEEWARD WATERS.

&&

RAB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Kauai Leeward

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 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 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Kohala

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 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 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 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, Maui Central Valley

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Maui Central Valley forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Maui Windward West

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Maui Windward West forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Molokai Leeward

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Molokai Leeward forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Molokai Windward

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Molokai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Niihau

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Niihau forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Oahu Koolau

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Oahu Koolau forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Oahu North Shore

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Oahu North Shore forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Waianae Coast

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Waianae Coast forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Windward Haleakala

When: February 2, 5:00 AM HST to February 3, 6:00 PM HST
Where: Windward Haleakala forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, February 2006

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: 5492970, 5492971, 5492972, 5492973, 5492974, 5492975, 5492976, 5492977, 5492978, 5492979, 5492980, 5492981, 5492982.