An upper trough over the Hawaiian Islands enhanced trade wind showers, which resulted in wintry conditions in the higher elevations, and heavy rain, thunderstorms, and flash flooding over much of the state at lower elevations. More than 200 homes, most of them on the Big Island of Hawaii and in Kauai, were damaged by the high water.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
An upper trough over the Hawaiian Islands enhanced trade wind showers, which resulted in wintry conditions in the higher elevations, and heavy rain, thunderstorms, and flash flooding over much of the state at lower elevations. More than 200 homes, most of them on the Big Island of Hawaii and in Kauai, were damaged by the high water. Because of high water and landslides, the flooding closed many roadways from time to time. At least two cars and a 40-foot shipping container were swept into a stream and river in Kauai on the 3rd of February, with the container hitting two bridges as it moved down the Hanapepe River to the ocean. No dollar cost estimate on damages was available. There were no serious injuries.
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 Jan 31, 8:30 PM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 830 PM HST THU JAN 31 2008 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS WILL STRENGTHEN...CAUSING THE TRADE WINDS TO INCREASE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE ISLANDS WILL WEAKEN...BUT WILL KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE UNSTABLE OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE STATE THROUGH THE NIGHT. LOCALLY HEAVY SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI THIS EVENING. && .DISCUSSION... WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS THE CORE OF THE UPPER LOW MOVING AWAY TO THE NORTHEAST OF THE BIG ISLAND...WITH A TROUGH LINGERING BACK ACROSS THE STATE. 00Z PHLI/PHTO SOUNDINGS SHOW AN ADDITIONAL 2-4C OF MID-LEVEL WARMING OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS...WITH A WEAK INVERSION AT PHLI BUT PHTO STILL INVERSION FREE. PRECIPITABLE WATER AT PHTO HAS RISEN TO 1.4 INCHES...WITH A NEARLY SATURATED COLUMN BELOW 550MB. 04Z POES AMSU TOTAL PRECIPITABLE WATER PASS SHOWS A NARROW RIBBON OF HIGHER PRECIPITABLE WATER NEAR WINDWARD MAUI/BIG ISLAND. THE COMBINATION OF GREATER MOISTURE AND LINGERING INSTABILITY CONTINUE TO SUPPORT HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIAL ACROSS THE EASTERN END OF THE STATE. DEEP CONVECTION HAS DIMINISHED OVER THE COASTAL WATERS...WITH ANY LINGERING THUNDERSTORMS FAR OUT OVER THE NORTHEAST OFFSHORE WATERS NEAR THE CORE OF THE UPPER LOW. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT FOR THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. LATE AFTERNOON WEB CAMS ON MAUNA KEA SHOW CLOUDS AT SUMMIT LEVEL...WHICH IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY THE MOISTURE DEPTH ON THE PHTO SOUNDING. CONVECTION ALONG THE SLOPES HAS DIMINISHED...WITH THE CURRENT WARM-TOPPED RAIN SHOWERS MAINLY AFFECTING THE WINDWARD COAST. WITH THE SLOWLY STABILIZING ATMOSPHERE...THE SHOWERS MAY HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME MAKING IT TO SUMMIT LEVELS TONIGHT...AS WAS THE CASE LAST NIGHT. HOWEVER...GIVEN THE CLOUDS AND THE SATURATED PROFILE THROUGH 550MB...ICING MAY BE MORE OF AN ISSUE TONIGHT INSTEAD OF SNOW. MOISTURE ONLY EXTENDS THROUGH ABOUT -9C...LIMITING ICE NUCLEATION OUTSIDE OF DEEPER CONVECTIVE SHOWERS. WILL UPDATE THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY STATEMENT TO HIGHLIGHT THE POTENTIAL FOR ICING AS WELL AS SNOW. 00Z NAM/GFS SHOW THE SURFACE HIGH BUILDING NORTH OF THE STATE THROUGH SATURDAY...WITH PRESSURES ALREADY BEGINNING TO RISE ACROSS THE ISLANDS. TRADES DROPPED OFF A BIT TODAY...BUT WILL PICK UP AGAIN AS THE GRADIENT TIGHTENS AND REMAIN BREEZY AND GUSTY INTO THE WEEKEND. THE UPPER TROUGH WILL LINGER OVER THE STATE. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW THE TEMPERATURE PROFILE STABILIZING SOME...BUT SATURATING AND REMAINING INVERSION FREE THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. THE GREATER MOISTURE DEPTH WITH THE LACK OF AN INVERSION WILL HELP TO MAINTAIN THE CURRENT WET TRADE PATTERN. SHOWERS WILL FAVOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS...BUT WILL BE MORE WIDESPREAD AND HEAVIER THAN TYPICAL TRADE WIND SHOWERS. THE STRONG WINDS WILL ALSO BLOW SHOWERS ACROSS WINDWARD SECTIONS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS MORE FREQUENTLY. THE 12Z/31 ECMWF BACKED AWAY FROM ITS EARLIER SOLUTION FEATURING A STRONGER INVERTED TROUGH DEVELOPING WEST OF THE STATE...BUT NOW HINTS AT A SHEAR LINE ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONGER MID-LATITUDE SYSTEM BRUSHING THE STATE BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. THE 18Z GFS STILL SHOWS THE INVERTED TROUGH DEVELOPING OVER THE STATE...BUT HAS TRENDED FARTHER WEST TOWARD THE ENSEMBLE MEAN. THE CURRENT FORECAST LOOKS REASONABLE WITH WINDS SLOWLY VEERING TO THE EAST/SOUTHEAST EARLY NEXT WEEK...WITH CONTINUED HIGHER THAN NORMAL RAINFALL CHANCES. && .MARINE... COMBINED SEAS AT THE KAILUA BAY BUOY HAVE RISEN TO 9FT/8-9SEC THIS EVENING. THE 00Z WAVEWATCH III GUIDANCE IS ACTUALLY PRETTY CLOSE TO THE BUOY READINGS...AFTER RUNNING A FOOT OR SO TOO HIGH OVER THE PAST COUPLE RUNS. WINDS AND THE EASTERLY TRADE WIND SWELL WILL INCREASE AS THE HIGH STRENGTHENS NORTH OF THE STATE...AND WE WILL LIKELY NEED ANOTHER HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR EAST FACING SHORES THIS WEEKEND. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST FRIDAY FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST FRIDAY FOR ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS. && BRAVENDER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 heavy rain, 3 flash flood, 2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Icy conditions and gusty winds at the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa caused travel problems for those heading to the highest elevations on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Icy conditions and gusty winds at the summit of Haleakala caused travel problems for those heading to the highest elevations on the Valley Isle of Maui.
Road closures caused by flash flooding in the Hilo area of the Big Island of Hawaii included Kamehameha Avenue from Manono to Ponahawai, Pauahi Street from Kamehameha to Aupuni, East Kawailani from Awapuhi to Ahuna, and Akolea Road. Also, Highway 11 in the Kawa Flats area of the Kau District was closed because of flooding.
Flooding closed the Wainiha Bridge in the northern part of Kauai.
Portion of Kuhio Highway closed because of flooding at the Hanalei Bridge in the northern section of Kauai.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, February 2008
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: 76441, 76443, 76448, 76450, 76647, 76649, 76648, 76650, 76651.