Heavy Rain in Hawaii, February 20, 2006

Name: Heavy Rain in Hawaii, February 20, 2006
Start: 2006-02-20T02:14
End: 2006-02-20T05:12
Location: Hawaii

February 20, 2006 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Heavy showers caused small stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding on roadways in northern areas of the Garden Isle of Kauai. No serious property damage or injuries were reported.

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
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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.

Heavy showers caused small stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding on roadways in northern areas of the Garden Isle of Kauai. 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 Feb 19, 11:45 PM HST, 2 hours 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 19, 11:45 PM HST, 2 hours 29 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
1145 PM HST SUN FEB 19 2006

.SYNOPSIS...
BRIEF HEAVY SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT
WILL GIVE WAY TO MORE TYPICAL TRADE WIND SHOWERS LATE MONDAY AND
THEREAFTER THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. HIGH CLOUDS ALONG THE
SOUTHEAST FLANK OF AN UPPER LOW FAR NORTHWEST OF KAUAI WILL REMAIN
WITH US THROUGH MONDAY.

&&

.UPDATE...
HEAVY RAINFALL EVENTS HAVE COME AND TEMPORARILY GONE FROM WINDWARD
PORTIONS OF KAUAI AND OAHU...BUT A FLOOD WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR
KAUAI...OAHU AND MOLOKAI DUE TO THE CONTINUED POSSIBILITY OF
LOCALIZED HEAVY RAINFALL. LANAI MAY BE ADDED TO THE WATCH AREA
LATER. TOTAL 24 HOUR RAINFALL AMOUNTS ENDING AT 8 PM HST INCLUDE
AHUIMANU LOOP ON WINDWARD OAHU WITH 7.88 INCHES.

&&

.PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...
OUR AIRMASS REMAINS UNSTABLE THIS EVENING...WITH MODERATE TO
BRIEFLY HEAVY SHOWERS POPPING UP ACROSS WINDWARD OAHU AND PORTIONS
OF WINDWARD MOLOKAI AND MAUI. THERE HAVE BEEN SPORADIC RAIN GAGE
ALARMS FOR 1 TO 1.2 INCH PER HOUR RAINFALL RATES AT WAIHEE PUMP AND
AHUIMANU ON WINDWARD OAHU WITHIN THE PAST TWO HOURS. THESE TWO
STATIONS HAVE SEEN 3 AND 5.5 INCHES OF TOTAL
RAINFALL...RESPECTIVELY...OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS. OTHER WINDWARD
OAHU GAGES HAVE SEEN GENERALLY BETWEEN 1 AND 3 INCHES OF TOTAL
RAINFALL OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS.

A BROAD BAND OF BROKEN TO OVERCAST HIGH CLOUDS LIES ACROSS THE MAIN
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...ALONG THE SOUTHEAST FLANK OF AN UPPER LOW FAR
NORTHWEST OF KAUAI AND ALONG THE NORTHERN FRINGE OF AN UPPER RIDGE
SOUTH OF THE ISLAND CHAIN. THUNDERSTORMS AT LONG RADAR RANGE...110
TO 115 MILES NORTHEAST OF OAHU...MARK A ZONE OF UPPER DIVERGENCE AS
UPPER NORTHWESTERLIES EAST OF THE UPPER LOW SPLIT FROM UPPER
EASTERLIES WRAPPING AROUND THE NORTH SIDE OF THE RIDGE. THESE
THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD POSE NO THREAT TO THE ISLANDS AS THEY MOVE WEST
WITH THE SPLIT UPPER FLOW. HIGH CLOUD COVER ACROSS THE ISLANDS
SHOULD DECREASE MONDAY AS MODELS SHOW A RETURN TO A MORE ZONAL FLOW
PATTERN ALOFT.

LINGERING INSTABILITY ACROSS THE ISLANDS WILL KEEP THE THREAT OF
BRIEF HEAVY SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WITH US
OVERNIGHT...MOSTLY OVER AND NEAR KAUAI OAHU AND MOLOKAI. AFTER
MONDAY...SHOWERS SHOULD BEGIN TO ASSUME A TRADE WIND
DISTRIBUTION...FAVORING WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. TRADE WINDS WILL
BE SLOW TO RECOVER STRENGTH THROUGH THE WEEK...HOWEVER...BECAUSE
ANOTHER LOW NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS WILL KEEP THE PRESSURE
GRADIENT ACROSS THE ISLANDS RATHER SLACK.

GRIDS HAVE BEEN CHANGED FOR A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR
KAUAI...OAHU AND SURROUNDING WATERS THROUGH TONIGHT.

A DENSE FOG ADVISORY CONTINUES FOR THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS TONIGHT AS
THE FOG THICKENS. BASED ON THE MAUNA KEA AND MAUNA LOA WEB
CAMS...THERE WERE SEVERAL BREAKS IN THE FOG DURING THE DAY
SUNDAY...BUT EXPECT VISIBILITIES TO DECREASE AGAIN TONIGHT.

&&

.MARINE...
A GALE BETWEEN CALIFORNIA AND THE ISLANDS PRODUCED A
SWELL THAT IS HITTING THE EAST-FACING SHORES. COMPUTER MODELS
FORECAST THE SWELL TO REMAIN HIGHER THAN NORMAL THROUGH MONDAY. SURF
WILL GRADUALLY DROP BELOW THE 8 FEET ADVISORY LEVEL THROUGH THE DAY
MONDAY.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST MONDAY FOR EAST FACING SHORES OF
KAUAI OAHU MOLOKAI MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND.

DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM HST MONDAY FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS.

FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 10 PM MONDAY FOR KAUAI OAHU AND MOLOKAI.
&&

POWELL

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, Kauai

When: February 20, 2:14 AM HST to 5:12 AM HST
Where: Kauai County, 5 mi WNW of Hanalei
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (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 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: 5493008.