Heavy Rain, Kauai
- When
- December 15, 6:05 PM HST to December 16, 1:24 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, 0.08 mi NNE of Kekaha to 2.02 mi NNW of Kapaa
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 21.971, -159.719
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, December 15 to 16, 2008
The Kona low that had severely impacted the islands from the 11th through the 14th weakened, but it remained strong enough to deliver heavy showers and thunderstorms to Kauai and Oahu. The rain caused ponding on roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding.
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
- 2
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 Kona low that had severely impacted the islands from the 11th through the 14th weakened, but it remained strong enough to deliver heavy showers and thunderstorms to Kauai and Oahu. The rain caused ponding on roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding. 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 Dec 15, 4:00 PM HST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 15, 4:00 PM HST, 2 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 PM HST MON DEC 15 2008 .SYNOPSIS... VARIABLE OR SOUTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WORKWEEK... THANKS TO A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE TO THE NORTHEAST AND A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH TO THE WEST. SKIES WILL BE CLOUDY TO PARTLY CLOUDY WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF RAIN ON KAUAI AND THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND. && .DISCUSSION... NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WORKWEEK...AS A NORTH TO SOUTH UPPER LEVEL RIDGE JUST EAST OF THE ISLANDS AND AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH TO THE WEST ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE. THE SAME APPLIES TO THE SURFACE PATTERN WHERE A RIDGE WILL BE STATIONARY TO OUR NORTHEAST AND A TROUGH WILL SIT TO OUR WEST. THE NET EFFECT WILL BE VARIABLE OR SOUTHEAST WINDS...WITH SHOWERS MAINLY OVER AND NEAR KAUAI AND OVER SOUTHEASTERLY EXPOSURES OF THE BIG ISLAND. KAUAI...BEING CLOSEST TO THE TROUGH...WILL LIKELY SEE LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS. THE ISLANDS IN BETWEEN SHOULD SEE FEWER SHOWERS AS THEY WILL BE IN THE SHADOW OF THE BIG ISLAND. WITH THE WINDS OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST...PORTIONS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS WILL BE IN THE WIND SHADOW OF THE BIG ISLAND. THIS MEANS THAT THE THERE MAY BE SOME INTERIOR SHOWERS WITH AFTERNOON HEATING. THE BIG ISLAND LEE PLUME MAY ALSO CURVE TO THE NORTHWEST BRINGING SHOWERS MOSTLY LIKELY TO KAUAI. FINALLY...THE SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL CARRY VOLCANIC HAZE UP OVER KAUAI AND OAHU...AND TO A LESSER EXTENT MAUI COUNTY. PROGS DEVELOP A NUMBER OF SURFACE LOWS IN THE TROUGH TO OUR WEST OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS...BUT MANAGE TO KEEP MOST OF THE ASSOCIATED HEAVY RAIN WEST OF KAUAI. THAT SHOULD READ...JUST WEST OF KAUAI. THE POSSIBILITY OF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE KAUAI FORECAST...JUST BECAUSE OF THE CLOSENESS OF SAID ISLAND TO THE MOISTURE. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS ALSO BEEN ADDED TO THE KAUAI FORECAST THROUGH TUESDAY. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && CRAIG
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Honolulu
- When
- December 15, 9:20 PM HST to December 16, 2:53 AM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, 1.35 mi SSE of Punaluu to 1.46 mi NE of Haleiwa
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 21.583, -157.890
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
- Winter Weather in Texas, December 15 to 16, 2008
- Winter Weather in Oklahoma, December 15 to 16, 2008
- Heavy Rain and Frost and Freeze in California, December 15 to 17, 2008
- Winter Storm in Missouri, December 15 to 16, 2008
- Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 15 to 16, 2008
- Winter Weather in Kansas, December 15 to 16, 2008
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Arkansas, December 15 to 16, 2008
- Winter Storm in Tennessee, December 15 to 16, 2008
- Cold in Illinois, December 15, 2008
- Heavy Snow and Heavy Rain in Arizona, December 15 to 18, 2008
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Arkansas, December 15 to 16, 2008
- Winter Storm in Kentucky, December 15 to 16, 2008
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, December 2008
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: 145144, 145151.