A front moving through the state brought strong winds and heavy rain. The system downed trees and power lines, knocking out power to some residents.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
A front moving through the state brought strong winds and heavy rain. The system downed trees and power lines, knocking out power to some residents. The winds also damaged roofs, carports, and, in one case, a heavy wooden greenhouse. Most of the downed trees, power outages, and other weather-related problems occurred on Oahu on the 15th and early on the 16th. The cost estimate for damages was not 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 14, 4:00 PM HST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 PM HST WED JAN 14 2009 .SYNOPSIS... MODERATE SOUTHWEST WINDS AND ISOLATED SHOWERS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH TONIGHT AS A FRONT REMAINS STALLED NORTHWEST OF KAUAI. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN THURSDAY AND BECOME VERY GUSTY THURSDAY NIGHT AS THE FRONT REDEVELOPS NORTH OF THE STATE. THE FRONT WILL REACH KAUAI FRIDAY MORNING AND BRING STRONG GUSTY WINDS AND SHOWERS TO PORTIONS OF THE STATE BEFORE WEAKENING OVER THE BIG ISLAND SATURDAY MORNING. WINDS WILL SHIFT OUT OF THE NORTHWEST AS THE FRONT PASSES...THEN DECLINE ON SATURDAY. GENTLE TRADE WINDS AND DRY WEATHER ARE EXPECTED BY SUNDAY. && .DISCUSSION... MODERATE SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY AS A STALLED FRONT STRENGTHENS NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. THE AFTERNOON LIHUE SOUNDING IS SHOWING MID LEVEL WINDS INCREASING AS A DEVELOPING STORM SYSTEM PASSES FAR NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. ITS ASSOCIATED FRONT WILL MERGE WITH AN EXISTING..STALLED FRONT 250 MILES NORTH OF KAUAI. IN RESPONSE...BUOY 51001...LOCATED NEARLY 200 MILES NORTHWEST OF KAUAI...HAS REGISTERED A STEADY INCREASE IN WINDS THIS AFTERNOON...AND WINDS WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE OVER THE ISLANDS TONIGHT. BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON...FRESH AND LOCALLY GUSTY SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL BECOME ESTABLISHED OVER MOST OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS. THE SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW HAS BEEN RATHER DRY TODAY AND IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO BE SO INTO THURSDAY. ISOLATED SHOWERS MOVING UP FROM THE SOUTH WILL PERSIST TONIGHT OVER MOST LOCALES...BUT POPS ACROSS MAUI COUNTY WERE BUMPED UP A BIT SINCE THE GFS INDICATES A CONVERGENCE BAND SETTING UP THERE. A GRADUAL INCREASE IN SHOWERS IS IN STORE FOR THE SMALLER ISLANDS ON THURSDAY. THE BIG ISLAND WILL REMAIN MOSTLY DRY WITH VOLCANIC EMISSIONS MOVING NORTHWARD OVER THE HILO DISTRICTS. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE FURTHER AND BECOME VERY GUSTY OVER PORTIONS OF THE STATE THURSDAY EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY. ANOTHER IMPULSE TRAVELLING WITHIN A STRONG PACIFIC JET STREAM WILL INVIGORATE THE FRONT CURRENTLY NORTH OF KAUAI AND TIGHTEN THE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE STATE. AS A RESULT...GUSTY SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE FURTHER THURSDAY EVENING ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND AREAS NORTH AND EAST OF THE HIGH TERRAIN ON KAUAI AND OAHU. THE STRONGEST WIND GUSTS ON KAUAI AND OAHU WILL OCCUR IN AREAS PRONE TO DOWNSLOPING SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS. THESE AREAS INCLUDE WINDWARD KAUAI...WINDWARD OAHU...CENTRAL OAHU...AND THE NORTH SHORE OF OAHU. THE STRONGEST SUSTAINED WINDS AND STRONG WIND GUSTS WILL OCCUR AHEAD OF AND ALONG THE FRONT AS IT MOVES OVER KAUAI FRIDAY MORNING AND OAHU MID DAY FRIDAY. A HIGH WIND WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE ISLANDS. THE FRONT WILL BE WEAKENING AS IT MOVES OVER MAUI COUNTY FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND ALTHOUGH MOST THESE ISLANDS HAVE BEEN OMITTED FROM THE HIGH WIND WATCH...GUSTY DOWNSLOPE WINDS...SOME TO 50 MPH...ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE FRONT. THE HIGH WIND WATCH DOES INCLUDE THE HIGH SUMMIT OF HALEAKALA...WHERE STRONG SUSTAINED WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LATE THURSDAY NIGHT OR FRIDAY. WHILE THERE WILL LIKELY BE SOME HEAVY SHOWERS ALONG THE FRONT...INSTABILITY WILL BE MODEST AND THE FRONT WILL BE MOVING PRETTY FAST...SO EXCESSIVE RAINFALL IS NOT LIKELY. THE FRONT WILL REACH THE BIG ISLAND FRIDAY NIGHT...BUT THE FEATURE WILL BE WEAKENING RAPIDLY. AT THIS TIME...GUSTY WINDS DO NOT APPEAR TO BE A PROBLEM...THOUGH KOHALA WILL LIKELY EXPERIENCE SOME INCREASE IN WINDS AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH. WINDS WILL GRADUALLY VEER AND EASE LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY BEHIND THE FRONT AS A WEAK SURFACE RIDGE DEVELOPS NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. DRY AND STABLE CONDITIONS WITH GENTLE TRADES ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY THROUGH MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY AHEAD OF ANOTHER FRONT THAT WILL AFFECT THE ISLANDS TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY. && .MARINE... THE LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL HAS LEVELED OFF AT 14 FT 17 SECONDS AT BUOY 51001 THIS AFTERNOON. A RECENT SURF REPORT FROM THE NORTH SHORE OF KAUAI INDICATES SURF UP TO 35 FT...AND THESE HEIGHTS ARE EXPECTED TO MATERIALIZE ON OAHU AND MAUI COUNTY THIS EVENING. LARGE SURF UP TO 15 FT IS IN STORE FOR WEST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND TONIGHT AS WELL. THE LARGE SURF WILL DECLINE SLIGHTLY ON THURSDAY BUT REMAIN AT WARNING LEVELS. ANOTHER NORTHWEST SWELL IS DUE ON FRIDAY...KEEPING SURF AT OR ABOVE WARNING LEVELS THROUGH SATURDAY. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES REMAIN IN EFFECT DUE TO HAZARDOUS SEAS AND INCREASING WINDS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF WARNING FOR NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF NIIHAU KAUAI OAHU MOLOKAI AND MAUI AND WEST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND. HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR WEST FACING SHORES OF LANAI AND NORTH FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND. HIGH WIND WATCH FOR KAUAI OAHU AND HALEAKALA SUMMIT FROM 6 PM THURSDAY THROUGH 4 PM FRIDAY. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY. && WROE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Winds from the west gusted over 100 mph at the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii.
A large carport roof was blown from its moorings, and a heavy wooden greenhouse was lifted off the ground and became perched on a neighbor's roof. Each event occurred in Kaneohe on the island of Oahu.
West winds gusted above 65 mph at the summit of Haleakala on the Valley Isle of Maui.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 2009
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: 145308, 145310, 145309, 145312.