Flash Flood, Kauai
- When
- March 27, 5:40 AM HST to 10:40 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, Countywide
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 22.083, -159.500
Flash Flood in Hawaii, March 27, 2006
The Hanalei River overflowed its banks near the Hanalei Bridge, again closing Kuhio Highway in that area. Heavy rain and thunderstorms were moving through the isle for much of the morning, causing the river to quickly rise.
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.
The Hanalei River overflowed its banks near the Hanalei Bridge, again closing Kuhio Highway in that area. Heavy rain and thunderstorms were moving through the isle for much of the morning, causing the river to quickly rise. 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 27, 4:00 AM HST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 27, 4:00 AM HST, 1 hour 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 AM HST MON MAR 27 2006 .SYNOPSIS... THE WET WEATHER WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE FINAL WEEK OF MARCH AS TROUGHINESS IN THE UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE CONTINUES TO LINGER AROUND THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. && .DISCUSSION... CONSENSUS OF THE COMPUTER SOLUTIONS POINTS TO A SLOWER IMPROVING TREND THIS WEEK...THUS KEEPING ALL BUT TUESDAY AS WET. BUT A MORE TYPICAL TRADE PATTERN IS IN THE OFFERING...MORE TOWARD A SATURDAY/MONDAY TIME FRAME. SO LETS KEEP OUR FINGERS CROSS FOR THE LATTER TO HAPPEN. OTHERWISE NOTHING NEW TO ADD FROM THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION. THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE FORECAST REMAINS UNCHANGED. ONE SLUG OF MOISTURE MOVED THROUGH MAUI COUNTY IN THE PAST FEW HOURS WITHOUT MUCH FANFARE...WHILE KAUAI AND OAHU WERE RATHER QUIET...FOR A CHANGE. BUT THIS IS SHORT LIVED AS A SHORT WAVE OR DISTURBANCE ALOFT PUSHES ANOTHER LARGE BATCH OF MOISTURE TOWARDS THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. AT LEAST THE MORNING HOURS WILL BE SOGGY. THE NEXT BATCH OF MOISTURE IS SLATED FOR WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY AS YET ANOTHER STRONG TROUGH SWOOPS DOWN FROM THE NORTHWEST AND SLOWLY PUSHES THROUGH THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. ALL ISLANDS WILL GET THEIR SHARE OF WEATHER. WINDWISE...FOR THE EXCEPT FOR THE BIG ISLAND...THE EASTERLY WINDS ARE QUICKLY VEERING TO THE SOUTH THIS MORNING. BY TOMORROW OR TUESDAY AFTERNOON...ALL ISLANDS SHOULD BE SOUTHERLY...AHEAD OF A WEAKENING COLD FRONT. THIS FRONT IS SLATED TO BECOME AN INVERTED TROUGH BY THURSDAY OVER THE CENTRAL ISLANDS...FOLLOW BY DISSIPATION FRIDAY. ITS DEMISE MEANS THE RETURN OF THE TRADES OVER THE WEEKEND. THE WINDS PICKED UP OVER THE HALEAKALA SUMMIT DURING THE EVENING THUS PROMPTING A WIND ADVISORY GOOD UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR MAUNA KEA AN MAUNA LOA. FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE TONIGHT FOR ALL ISLANDS. WIND ADVISORY HALEAKALA SUMMIT TODAY. LAU
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
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: 5495614.