High Surf in Hawaii, July 9 to 13, 2006

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, July 9 to 13, 2006
Start: 2006-07-09T06:00
End: 2006-07-13T06:00
Location: Hawaii

July 9 to 13, 2006 · NWS HFO · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A trade wind swell generated surf of 5 to 10 feet along the east-facing shores of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and the Big Island of Hawaii. There were no reports of serious injuries or property damage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 10

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 Jul 9, 4:00 AM HST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 9, 4:00 AM HST, 2 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
400 AM HST SUN JUL 9 2006

.SYNOPSIS...
HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS...WILL PROVIDE LOCALLY STRONG
AND GUSTY TRADE WINDS FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. CLOUDS AND
SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL FAVOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS...WITH
GENERALLY FAIR WEATHER...AND ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS EXPECTED OVER
MOST LEEWARD LOCATIONS.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE STATE WILL PROVIDE THE ISLANDS WITH TRADE
WIND WEATHER THROUGH THE WEEK. THE HIGH IS A BIT STRONGER THAN
NORMAL CAUSING A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT IN OUT VICINITY. WINDS WILL
REMAIN RATHER STRONG AND GUSTY THROUGH AT LEAST MID WEEK. LATER
SHIFTS WILL HAVE TO CONSIDER EXTENDING SOME OR ALL OF THE ADVISORIES
BEYOND THERE CURRENT EXPIRATION TIME.

UPWIND OF THE THE ISLANDS IS A BROAD FIELD OF STRATOCUMULUS CLOUDS
THAT ARE MOVING INTO THE ISLANDS IN THE TRADE WIND FLOW. RADARS ARE
SHOWING SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS...MAINLY AFFECTING WINDWARD AND
MAUKA AREAS. WINDWARD SECTIONS OF THE BIG ISLAND HAVE HAD THE MOST
RAINFALL OVER THE PAST 6 HOURS WITH 1/2 INCH HAVING FALLEN AT
GLENWOOD. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS HAVE BEEN VERY
LIGHT...MOSTLY UNDER 1/10 OF AN INCH. THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS RATHER
STABLE AS INDICATED BY LOW AND STRONG INVERSIONS AT LIHUE AND HILO.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
THE AIRMASS OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN
RELATIVELY DRY...AT LEAST IN THE NEAR TERM. THE PROLONGED PERIOD OF
STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS WILL MAKE FOR HIGHER THAN NORMAL FIRE
DANGER...PARTICULARLY IN LEEWARD AREAS WHERE RAINFALL HAS BEEN
RATHER SPARSE LATELY.

&&

.MARINE...
A QUICKSCAT PASS OVER THE ISLANDS LAST EVENING INDICATED 25 KT WINDS
ACROSS MUCH OF THE ADJACENT WATERS WITH 30 KT BEING DETECTED IN THE
ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL. THIS DEFINITELY VERIFIES THE SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORY. THE STRONGER THAN NORMAL TRADE WINDS WILL ALSO CAUSE ROUGH
AND CHOPPY SHORT PERIOD SURF FOR EAST FACING SHORES WITH HEIGHTS
REACHING OR EXCEEDING THE ADVISORY LEVEL OF 8 FT.

&&

.AVIATION...
THE STRONG TRADES ARE CAUSING SOME MODERATE TURBULENCE BELOW 6000 FT
IN AREAS SOUTH AND WEST OF MOUNTAIN RANGES. SMALL PLANES ARE
PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO THESE TYPES OF WINDS. THUS AN AIRMET
WILL LIKELY REMAIN UP FOR AS LONG AND THE TRADES STAY STRONG.

&&

.CLIMATE...
WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HILO...DAYTIME HIGHS AT THE MAJOR AIRPORT
SITES HAVE BEEN EQUAL OR A DEGREE LOWER THAN NORMAL OVER THE PAST
SEVERAL DAYS WHILE OVERNIGHT LOWS HAVE BEEN EQUAL TO A FEW DEGREES
WARMER THAN NORMAL. IN HILO...BOTH THE HIGHS AND LOWS HAVE BEEN A
DEGREE OR TWO WARMER THAN NORMAL. THE RESULT IS A DEGREE OR TWO
WARMER THAN AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURES FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY FROM 6 AM TODAY TO 6 PM MONDAY FOR ALL ISLANDS.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST MONDAY FOR ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY FROM 6 AM TODAY TO 6 PM TUESDAY FOR EAST FACING
SHORES.

&&

BURKE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Big Island North and East

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM HST
Where: Big Island North and East forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Kahoolawe

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM HST
Where: Kahoolawe forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kauai Windward

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM HST
Where: Kauai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Lanai Makai

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM HST
Where: Lanai Makai forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Maui Windward West

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM 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 Windward

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM HST
Where: Molokai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Oahu Koolau

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM HST
Where: Oahu Koolau forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Olomana

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM HST
Where: Olomana forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, South Big Island

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM HST
Where: South Big Island forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Surf, Windward Haleakala

When: July 9, 6:00 AM HST to July 13, 6:00 AM 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, July 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: 5521390, 5521391, 5521392, 5521393, 5521394, 5521395, 5521396, 5521397, 5521398, 5521399.