An upper low near the Aloha State helped generate showers and thunderstorms, and snow at the higher elevations, over Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. The system also helped generate a severe thunderstorm on the Big Island.
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 low near the Aloha State helped generate showers and thunderstorms, and snow at the higher elevations, over Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. The system also helped generate a severe thunderstorm on the Big Island. The rain events caused occasional problems, as debris flows shut down parts of roadways on the Big Island on the 29th and 30th. No serious property damage or injuries were reported, however.
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 29, 10:00 AM HST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST TUE JAN 29 2008 .SYNOPSIS... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE STATE WILL PRODUCE FRESH AND GUSTY TRADE WINDS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SHOWERS WILL FAVOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS...WITH SOME SHOWERS REACHING LEEWARD AREAS. AN UPPER LOW OVER THE ISLANDS WILL CAUSE SOME SHOWERS TO BE LOCALLY HEAVY... WITH THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY ACROSS MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND. && .DISCUSSION... WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS AN UPPER LOW OVER THE STATE. THE AIRMASS UNDER THIS LOW IS UNSTABLE. 12Z SOUNDINGS FROM PHLI/PHTO SHOW FREEZING LEVELS NEAR 10KFT...WITH WET BULB ZERO HEIGHTS DOWN TO 8-9KFT. 16Z-18Z ACARS SOUNDINGS FROM PHNL/PHTO ALSO SHOW FREEZING LEVELS NEAR 10KFT. IR SATELLITE SHOWS AN AREA OF DEEP CONVECTION ALONG THE EASTERN HALF OF THE UPPER LOW...WITH IR CLOUD TOP TEMPERATURES BELOW -35C. RADAR ECHO TOPS ARE NEAR 30KFT. THE OBSERVER AT PHTO AND A SPOTTER IN HILO BOTH REPORTED THUNDER FROM A CELL WITH A -30C TO -35C CLOUD TOP TEMPERATURE. HAVE ADDED AN ISOLATED THUNDERSTORM TO MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND ZONES...IN ADDITION TO THE COASTAL AND OFFSHORE WATERS. WITH THE COMBINATION OF LOW FREEZING LEVELS AND DEEP CONVECTION... HAVE ISSUED WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES FOR HALEAKALA AND BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. ON MAUI...HALEAKALA RANGERS AND INSTITUTE FOR ASTRONOMY PERSONNEL REPORT SNOW AND ICE DOWN TO 7KFT WITH UP TO AN INCH OF SNOW ACCUMULATION AT THE SUMMIT. ON THE BIG ISLAND...MAUNA KEA ROAD CREWS REPORT UP TO AN INCH OF SNOW WITH ICY CONDITIONS ON THE ROADS. ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATION FORECASTS WILL BE TRICKY...AS THEY ARE TIED TO THE ISOLATED CONVECTIVE SHOWERS THAT REACH THE SUMMITS. 1 TO 3 INCHES LOOKS LIKE A GOOD RANGE. WILL CARRY THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH TONIGHT. AT LOWER ELEVATIONS...THE UNSTABLE AIRMASS WILL LEAD TO LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. STORM MOTION IS TO THE WEST-SOUTHWEST NEAR 30 MPH. THE FAST MOTION AND SUBSEQUENT BRIEF DURATION FOR SHOWERS SHOULD LIMIT FLOODING POTENTIAL. HOWEVER...INDIVIDUAL SHOWERS MAY BE HEAVY AND CAUSE LOCALIZED PROBLEMS SUCH AS TEMPORARY PONDING OF WATER. THE STRONG TRADE WINDS WILL ALSO BLOW SHOWERS FURTHER INLAND ACROSS LEEWARD SECTIONS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS. BY WEDNESDAY...12Z NAM/GFS SHOW MID-LEVEL TEMPERATURES WARMING A COUPLE DEGREES. THE NAM IS A BIT FASTER THAN THE GFS IN DECREASING THE THUNDER POTENTIAL...BUT THE AIRMASS REMAINS UNSTABLE. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW FREEZING LEVELS CLIMBING NEAR 12KFT. THROUGH THE LONGER TERM...THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE TRENDING TOWARD LOWER HEIGHTS OVER THE ISLANDS...KEEPING AN UPPER TROUGH NEAR THE STATE THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. DIFFERENCES EMERGE BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD RELATED TO HOW THE MODELS HANDLE A REINFORCING PIECE OF ENERGY DIGGING IN FROM THE NORTHWEST. BOTH 12Z GFS AND ECMWF NOW SHOW AN INVERTED SURFACE TROUGH DEVELOPING NEAR THE STATE BY MONDAY. && .MARINE... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES CONTINUE FOR ALL COASTAL WATERS DUE TO WINDS AND SEAS. THESE CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE TRADE WIND SWELL WILL LEAD TO LARGE AND ROUGH SURF FOR EAST FACING SHORES. THE NORTHWEST SWELL IS SMALLER THAN ANTICIPATED...AND WE HAVE DROPPED THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR NORTH FACING SHORES. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST WEDNESDAY FOR KAUAI WINDWARD- OAHU KOOLAU-OLOMANA-MOLOKAI WINDWARD-MAUI WINDWARD WEST-WINDWARD HALEAKALA-SOUTH BIG ISLAND-BIG ISLAND NORTH AND EAST. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR HALEAKALA SUMMIT-BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS. && BRAVENDER
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 heavy rain, 2 winter weather, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
An airline pilot reported a hail stone of 0.75 of an inch about 1130 Hawaii Standard Time on the 29th around 5 miles north of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Snow accumulations of 1 to 2 inches occurred above the 7000-foot level. Travel to the summit was restricted at times.
Snow accumulations of 1 to 2 inches occurred above the 7000-foot level. Travel to the summits was restricted at times.
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, January 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: 71352, 71353, 71356, 71354, 71355, 71357, 71358.