Flash Flood, Kauai
- When
- March 10, 7:30 AM HST to 1:16 PM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, 4 mi WNW of Hanalei
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 22.217, -159.550
Flash Flood in Hawaii, March 10, 2006
Kuhio Highway near the Hanalei Bridge was closed for a time as the Hanalei River again overflowed its banks. Heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms had been impacting the northern and eastern parts of Kauai.
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
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.
Kuhio Highway near the Hanalei Bridge was closed for a time as the Hanalei River again overflowed its banks. Heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms had been impacting the northern and eastern parts of Kauai. There were no reports of serious property damage or 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 Mar 10, 4:00 AM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 10, 4:00 AM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 AM HST FRI MAR 10 2006 .SYNOPSIS... CONVECTION HAS WEAKENED OVER KAUAI AND OAHU THIS EARLY MORNING BUT A BAND OF HEAVY SHOWERS REMAINS OVER THE NEARBY WATERS AND THUS HEAVY SHOWERS AND A POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORM REMAIN IN THE FORECAST FOR THESE ISLANDS. WITH A DRIER AND SOMEWHAT MORE STABLE SOUNDING AT HILO HOWEVER...THE THREAT OF FLOODING ON THESE ISLANDS IS MUCH REDUCED. EXPECT THE SHOWERS TO DECREASE TONIGHT AND SATURDAY...WITH A RETURN TO MORE NORMAL TRADE WIND WEATHER ON SUNDAY. && .DISCUSSION... DRYER AIR IS BEGINNING TO FILTER IN OVER THE EASTERN END OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AND SO THE THREAT FOR HEAVY...FLOOD PRODUCING... RAINFALL HAS DECREASED FROM MOLOKAI TO THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII. HOWEVER...WITH A VERY MOIST AND UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE REMAINING OVER KAUAI AND OAHU...ALONG WITH HEAVY SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS SEEN ON DOPPLER RADAR TO THE SOUTH OF THESE ISLANDS...THE THREAT OF MORE HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING CONTINUES FOR THESE ISLANDS. THUS THE FLOOD WATCH IS BEING REISSUED ONLY FOR KAUAI AND OAHU THIS MORNING. SHOWERS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE OVER PORTIONS OF ALL ISLANDS TODAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND HOWEVER AS THE MOIST SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW OF AIR CONTINUES NEAR THE SURFACE. WITH THE DRIER AIR GRADUALLY MOVING WESTWARD OVER ALL THE ISLANDS THIS WEEKEND...EXPECT A RETURN OF THE TRADE WINDS BY SUNDAY. THIS SHOULD DECREASE THE CHANCES FOR HEAVY RAINFALL...AND FOCUS SHOWERS OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS FOR A MORE NORMAL RAINFALL PATTERN ONCE AGAIN. FORECAST MODELS ARE INDICATING THAT THE TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE COMING WORK WEEK...AT MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY FRESH SPEEDS. && MARINE... A HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR EAST FACING SHORES DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF STRONGER TRADE WINDS OFFSHORE TO THE EAST AND NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS. THIS HIGH SURF IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ALONG EAST FACING SHORES THROUGH FRIDAY. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH...CANCELLED FOR MOLOKAI...MAUI...LANAI AND THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII AT 4 AM HST. CONTINUED FOR KAUAI AND OAHU THROUGH 6 PM FRIDAY. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR STRONG E/SE WINDS BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST... BIG ISLAND WINDWARD...MAUI WINDWARD...OAHU WINDWARD...KAUAI WINDWARD WATERS THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...CANCELLED AT 4 AM HST. && FARRELL
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Winter Storm in Arizona, March 10 to 12, 2006
- Flooding in Indiana, March 10 to 21, 2006
- Winter Storm in California, March 10 to 11, 2006
- Tornado and Hail in Oklahoma, March 10 to 11, 2006
- Strong Wind in Ohio, March 10, 2006
- Wildfire in Oklahoma, March 10, 2006
- Hail in California, March 10, 2006
- Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, March 10, 2006
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, March 10, 2006
- High Wind in New Mexico, March 10, 2006
- Winter Weather in California, March 10 to 11, 2006
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, March 10 to 11, 2006
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 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: 5495536.