Flash Flood, Kauai
- When
- March 15, 1:45 AM HST to 8:44 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, 10 mi WSW of Hanalei
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 22.150, -159.633
Flash Flood in Hawaii, March 15, 2006
Heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms impacted the eastern two thirds of Kauai. The Hanapepe River overflowed its banks and flooded Kamalu Road in Wailua Homestead near the ballpark.
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.
Heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms impacted the eastern two thirds of Kauai. The Hanapepe River overflowed its banks and flooded Kamalu Road in Wailua Homestead near the ballpark. However, there were no reports of serious injuries or property damage.
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 14, 8:30 PM HST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 14, 8:30 PM HST, 5 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 830 PM HST TUE MAR 14 2006 .SYNOPSIS... THE STATEWIDE THREAT OF POSSIBLY FLOODING RAINS CONTINUES. OAHU IS THE MOST LIKELY AREA FOR EXCESSIVE RAIN TONIGHT. && .DISCUSSION... WATER VAPOR IMAGES SHOWED A COMPACT UPPER LOW APPROACHING THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FROM THE NORTHWEST. A SECONDARY LOW OR WAVE SWUNG AROUND THE SOUTHERN END OF THE MAIN LOW TOWARD THE ISLANDS AS WELL. ON THE WHOLE...MODEL REPRESENTATION OF THE PRIMARY LOW WAS PRETTY GOOD...THOUGH NONE OF THE MODELS RESOLVED THE SECONDARY LOW WELL. THE SOLUTIONS REMAIN IN CLOSE AGREEMENT THROUGH ABOUT THE NEXT 24 HOURS. AFTERWARD...THE NOGAPS KEEPS THE LOW CLOSE TO THE ISLANDS THE LONGEST...WHILE THE NAM KICKS IT OUT TO THE NORTHEAST SOONEST. THE GFS AND UKMET SOLUTIONS SERVE AS A GOOD COMPROMISE...SUGGESTING THAT THE UPPER LOW WILL LOSE MOST OF ITS INFLUENCE OVER THE ISLANDS AROUND THURSDAY NIGHT...AND THAT UPPER RIDGING WILL START TO CREEP IN FROM THE EAST ON FRIDAY AS THE LOW DEPARTS. HOWEVER...THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRONG CONVERGENCE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS ON FRIDAY WILL REINFORCE SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW OVER THE STATE... BRINGING UP MORE MOISTURE FROM THE DEEP TROPICS...AND PRODUCING THE EQUIVALENT OF WET TRADES UNDER THE STRENGTHENING INVERSION. THESE PSEUDO-TRADES WILL AFFECT MOSTLY SLOPES FACING THE SOUTHEAST... RATHER THAN THE MORE TYPICAL NORTHEAST. THUS...DESPITE UPPER RIDGING MANY AREAS WILL NOT EVEN BEGIN TO DRY OUT UNTIL SATURDAY. EVEN THE LONGER TERM MAY BE QUITE WET. MOST OF THE MODELS DEVELOP A SURFACE LOW TO THE SOUTH OF THE ISLANDS BY LATE THIS WEEK...AND THEN MOVE IT UP TO THE NORTH PAST THEM OVER THE WEEKEND. WHILE THE OTHER MODELS HAD BEEN INCLINED TO MOVE IT PAST THE ISLANDS ON THE EAST... THE 00Z RUN OF THE GFS PREDICTS IT TO MOVE RIGHT ACROSS THE ARCHIPELAGO...SPREADING CONSIDERABLE PRECIPITATION ALONG THE WAY. THE MODELS HINT AT SOME GENUINE DRYING BEGINNING NEXT WEEK...THOUGH AT THIS POINT IT IS DIFFICULT TO SAY MORE PRECISELY WHEN. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ALL ISLANDS THROUGH THURSDAY. && RYSHKO
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
- Strong Wind in New Jersey, March 15, 2006
- Wildfire in Oklahoma, March 15 to 16, 2006
- Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, March 15, 2006
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 15 to 16, 2006
- Strong Wind in Maryland, March 15, 2006
- Strong Wind in Delaware, March 15, 2006
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 15 to 16, 2006
- Flooding in Kentucky, March 15 to 22, 2006
- Heavy Snow in California, March 15 to 16, 2006
- Flooding in Indiana, March 15 to 17, 2006
- Wildfire in Missouri, March 15 to 16, 2006
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, March 15 to 16, 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: 5495539.