High Surf, South Big Island
- When
- May 20, 1:00 PM HST to May 22, 11:00 PM HST
- Where
- South Big Island forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf in Hawaii, May 20 to 22, 2008
A deep low far southeast of the Aloha State in the southern hemisphere produced surf of 6 to 10 feet, with locally higher sets, along the southeast-facing shores of the Big Island of Hawaii. No significant injuries or property damage were reported.
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.
A deep low far southeast of the Aloha State in the southern hemisphere produced surf of 6 to 10 feet, with locally higher sets, along the southeast-facing shores of the Big Island of Hawaii. No significant injuries or property damage 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 May 20, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 20, 10:00 AM HST, 3 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST TUE MAY 20 2008 .SYNOPSIS... TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT...THANKS TO A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE TO OUR NORTH. WINDS WILL BECOME LIGHTER WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AS A LATE SEASON FRONT APPROACHES THE ISLAND CHAIN...RESULTING IN A PATTERN OF AFTERNOON INTERIOR CLOUD COVER AND SHOWERS. LIGHT TRADES WILL RETURN FRIDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND AS HIGH PRESSURE REBUILDS NORTH OF THE STATE. && .DISCUSSION... A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ALONG 30N CONTINUES TO DRIVE 15 MPH TRADE WINDS ACROSS THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THIS MORNING. SATELLITE LOOPS SHOW LOW CLOUDS HAVE INCREASED ACROSS LOCAL WATERS FROM 24 HOURS AGO...WITH RADAR ALSO SHOWING AN ASSOCIATED INCREASE IN SHOWER COVERAGE. OVERNIGHT SOUNDINGS SHOW OUR AIRMASS IS A BIT MORE UNSTABLE FROM YESTERDAY...WITH K-INDICES IN THE TEENS AND BETWEEN 400 AND 1000 J/KG OF CONVECTIVE ENERGY. AN INVERSION STILL EXISTS NEAR 6500 FT...BUT THIS IS WEAKER...ESPECIALLY IN THE LIHUE SOUNDING. CLOUDS AND SHOWERS FAVOR WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN SECTIONS OF THE ISLANDS...BUT LEE CLOUD COVER IS BEGINNING TO INCREASE AS DEVELOPING SEA BREEZES CONVERGE WITH THE TRADES. WE EXPECT CLOUD COVER WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THROUGH THE DAY AND LAST INTO THIS EVENING BEFORE DECREASING OVERNIGHT. MODELS SHOW A COLD FRONT APPROACHING THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FROM THE NORTHWEST WILL NOT REACH THE ISLANDS...BUT WILL ACT TO DEFORM WIND FLOW ACROSS THE ISLANDS WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. WE EXPECT WINDS WILL WEAKEN AND SHIFT TO SOUTHEASTERLIES ON THOSE DAYS...LIKELY DRAGGING A PALL OF VOLCANIC HAZE ACROSS THE SMALLER ISLANDS WEDNESDAY THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. THE FRONT WILL WEAKEN BY FRIDAY AND HIGH PRESSURE WILL SIMULTANEOUSLY STRENGTHEN TO THE EAST...ALLOWING TRADE WINDS TO RETURN TO THE ISLANDS FRIDAY AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND. MAY 18 THROUGH 24 HAS BEEN DECLARED HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WEEK IN HAWAII. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER WILL HOST TWO HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS WORKSHOPS ON MAY 27 AND 28. FOR DETAILS...REFER TO THE TOP NEWS OF THE DAY SECTION ON THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE AT /ALL LOWER CASE/ WWW.WEATHER.GOV/HAWAII. && .MARINE...A SOUTHEAST SWELL IS EXPECTED TO LAST THROUGH THE WEEK. EXPOSED SOUTHEAST BIG ISLAND SHORELINES WILL PROBABLY SEE THE MOST OF THIS SWELL. THE SMALLER ISLANDS WILL BE BLOCKED BY THE BIG ISLAND. HOWEVER...A BUMP UP ALONG SOUTHEAST FACING SHORES OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS CAN BE EXPECTED DUE TO SWELL ENERGY REFRACTING AROUND THE BIG ISLAND. NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT SWELLS ARE EXPECTED. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && POWELL
Event by event
2 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
High Surf, Big Island North and East
- When
- May 20, 1:00 PM HST to May 22, 11:00 PM HST
- Where
- Big Island North and East forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
What these are
- High Surf
- Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Georgia, May 20, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 20, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 20, 2008
- Tornado and Hail in South Carolina, May 20, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, May 20, 2008
- Tornado and Hail in Alabama, May 20, 2008
- Tornado and Hail in Georgia, May 20, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 20, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 20, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 20, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, May 20, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, May 20, 2008
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, May 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: 92749, 92750.