A small, short-lived tornado that dropped from a 10- to 15-thousand foot shower cloud touched down briefly in a field on Lanai. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries.
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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.
A small, short-lived tornado that dropped from a 10- to 15-thousand foot shower cloud touched down briefly in a field on Lanai. There were no reports of serious property damage or 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 Sep 23, 10:00 AM HST, 4 hours 27 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST TUE SEP 23 2008 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE ISLANDS WILL KEEP TRADE WINDS MODERATE THROUGH THE WEEK. MOISTURE RIDING IN ON THE TRADES WILL PROVIDE SHOWERS MAINLY FOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. LOW PRESSURE ALOFT MAY ALLOW SOME SHOWERS TO BE A BIT HEAVIER THAN USUAL. && .DISCUSSION... SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS A BROAD FIELD OF BROKEN LOW CLOUDS UPWIND OF THE ISLANDS THAT ARE MOVING WESTWARD IN A MODERATE TRADE WIND ENVIRONMENT. THIS IS PROVIDING OCCASIONAL SHOWERS FOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS WITH THE TRADE WINDS SUFFICIENTLY STRONG ENOUGH TO BLOW A FEW OF THEM OVER THE LEEWARD AREAS AT TIMES. MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH THE OVERALL WEATHER SCENARIO FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. A SURFACE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN NORTH OF THE STATE KEEPING US IN MODERATE TRADES. IN THE UPPER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE...AN UPPER LOW IS PRESENTLY CENTERED OVER THE KAUAI CHANNEL. MODELS KEEP THIS UPPER LOW IN THE VICINITY OF THE ISLANDS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE GRADUALLY DRIFTING IT OFF TOWARD THE WEST LATE IN THE WEEK. THIS FEATURE WILL KEEP THE ATMOSPHERE A BIT LESS STABLE THAN USUAL. THE SHOWERS MOVING WESTWARD IN THE TRADES WILL MAINLY BE LIGHT BUT A FEW MAY BECOME BRIEFLY HEAVY DUE THE UPPER LOWS INFLUENCE. ALSO SHOWERS MAY FORM OVER PORTIONS OF THE KONA SLOPES EACH AFTERNOON DUE TO DAYTIME HEATING AND A FEW COULD PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS. && .HYDROLOGY... RAINFALL AMOUNTS OVERNIGHT HAVE RANGED CONSIDERABLY FROM ISLAND TO ISLAND WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS RECORED OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA AREAS. OVER KAUAI THE HIGHEST AMOUNT WAS 0.17 INCHES THE MOUNT WAIALEALE GAGE. OVER OAHU THE HIGHEST AMOUNT WAS 0.53 INCHES AT THE SOUTH FORK KAUKONAHUA GAGE. OVER MOLOKAI THE HIGHEST AMOUNT WAS 0.07 INCHES AT THE MAKAPULAPAI GAGE...WHILE NO RAINFALL WAS MEASURED OVER THE ISLANDS OF LANAI OR KAHOOLAWE. OVER MAUI THE HIGHEST TOTAL WAS 0.75 INCHES AT THE WEST WAILUAIKI GAGE. OVER THE BIG ISLAND THE HIGHEST TOTAL WAS 0.20 INCHES AT THE PIIHONUA GAGE. FOR A COMPLETE RUNDOWN OF ALL RAINFALL TOTALS...PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST HAWAIIAN RAINFALL SUMMARY PRODUCT WHICH IS UPDATED EVERY 3 HOURS. && .MARINE... WINDS AND SEAS WILL REMAIN BELOW SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY THRESHOLDS THROUGH THE WEEK WITH THE HIGHEST WINDS AND WAVES EXPECTED THROUGH THE CHANNELS AND AROUND HEADLANDS. SURF WILL REMAIN RATHER SMALL THROUGH THE WEEK AND INTO THE WEEKEND. THERE WILL BE A SERIES OF VERY SMALL SHORT PERIOD SWELLS FROM THE NORTH AND NORTHWEST WITH GENERALLY BACKGROUND SOUTH SWELL CONDITIONS EXPECTED. VERY SHORT PERIOD CHOPPY SURF WILL CONTINUE ALONG EAST FACING SHORES DUE THE THE TRADES. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && BURKE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Local police and an Army helicopter pilot reported a small tornado had touched down in a field northeast of the Lanai Airport. The tornado dissipated without incident.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Hawaii, 2008Warnings in Hawaii, September 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: 130336.