Name: High Surf in Hawaii, February 11, 2009
Start: 2009-02-11T08:00
End: 2009-02-11T15:00
Location: Hawaii

Where it happened

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.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 fast-moving low northwest of the state generated surf of 10 to 15 feet along the north-facing shores of Niihau and Kauai. 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 Feb 11, 7:55 AM HST, 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 11, 7:55 AM HST, 5 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
755 AM HST WED FEB 11 2009

.UPDATE...WE HAVE ISSUED A HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR NORTH AND WEST
FACING SHORES OF NIIHAU AND KAUAI AND NORTH FACING SHORES OF
OAHU...MOLOKAI AND MAUI FOR TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. THE REST OF THE
FORECAST REMAINS THE SAME FOR NOW.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
A LOW ALOFT WILL MAKE THE ATMOSPHERE UNSTABLE...CREATING A CHANCE OF
HEAVY SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TOMORROW. A SURFACE TROUGH
WILL KEEP WINDS LIGHT OVER MOST AREAS TODAY...BUT TRADE WINDS WILL
BUILD BACK OVER THE ISLANDS TOMORROW AS HIGH PRESSURE STRENGTHENS
NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS. THE STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING
SHOWERY...LOCALLY WINDY WEATHER THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
ISOLATED SHOWERS HAVE CONTINUED TO DEVELOP ALONG THE KONA COAST
OVERNIGHT WHERE LAND BREEZES ARE COLLIDING WITH ONSHORE FLOW FROM
THE BIG ISLAND EDDY. ELSEWHERE...SHOWERS HAVE GENERALLY DECREASED
THIS MORNING WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES.

THE PATTERN TODAY IS SETTING UP TO BE SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY. THE
TROUGH TO THE NORTH OF THE STATE REMAINS IN PLACE...WHICH MEANS
ANOTHER DAY OF LIGHT FLOW AND AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES WITH SCATTERED
SHOWERS OVER THE ISLAND INTERIORS. THE 12Z RAOB DATA SHOWS DEEP
INSTABILITY IN PLACE AT LIHUE AND HILO. IN FACT...THERE HAS BEEN
ADDITIONAL COOLING ABOVE 500 MB IN THE PAST 24 HOURS...WITH THE
MODIFIED SKEW-T AT LIHUE SHOWING AN IMPRESSIVE 1500 J/KG CAPE WITH
THE PROJECTED AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURE. WITH SO MUCH INSTABILITY
AND MOISTURE AROUND THE CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXISTS AGAIN THIS
AFTERNOON OVER MOST INTERIOR SECTIONS. ADDITIONAL SNOW AND FROZEN
PRECIP IS LIKELY FOR THE UPPER ELEVATIONS OF THE BIG ISLAND...WITH
THE SNOW LEVEL DIPPING AS LOW AS 10000 TO 11000 FEET. EXPECT MOSTLY
LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS OF A COUPLE OF INCHES OR LESS...HOWEVER WITH THE
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS LOCALLY HIGHER SNOW AMOUNTS MAY OCCUR.

THE MODEL GUIDANCE STILL SHOWS THE TROUGH TO THE NORTH EVENTUALLY
DISSIPATING BY THURSDAY WHICH WILL ALLOW THE TRADES TO RETURN TO THE
ISLANDS. WIND SPEEDS ON THURSDAY WILL BE AT MODERATE LEVEL DURING
THE DAY...THEN INCREASE TO STRONG THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY. WITH
THE SURFACE RIDGE BEING REINFORCED EARLY NEXT WEEK...EXPECT THE
STRONG TRADE WINDS TO PERSIST THROUGH THE LONG WEEKEND AND INTO AT
LEAST THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH
THIS SCENARIO. SHOWERS WILL BE CONCENTRATED OVER WINDWARD AND MAUKA
AREAS...HOWEVER THE STRONG TRADES WILL PUSH SOME OF THE SHOWERS OVER
LEEWARD PORTIONS AS WELL.

&&

.MARINE...
INCREASING TRADE WINDS WILL CREATE A LARGE AND CHOPPY SWELL AND
ADVISORY LEVEL SURF TO THE EAST FACING SHORES BY THE END OF THE
WEEK. THE WIND SPEEDS MAY REACH GALE FORCE IN THE WINDIER AREAS
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS FROM NOON UNTIL 6 PM
TODAY.

&&

BRENCHLEY/DONALDSON

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Niihau

When: February 11, 8:00 AM HST to 3:00 PM HST
Where: Niihau forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kauai Windward

When: February 11, 8:00 AM HST to 3:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Kauai Leeward

When: February 11, 8:00 AM HST to 3:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai Leeward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, February 2009

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: 149437, 149438, 149439.