Heavy Rain, Maui
- When
- March 17, 2:55 PM HST to 4:48 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 0.86 mi NW of Haliimaile to 1.66 mi SSW of Waianapanapa Sp
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 20.877, -156.341
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, March 17 to 19, 2009
A westward moving low north of the islands generated heavy showers on Oahu and Maui. There were no reports of significant property damage or injuries.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
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 westward moving low north of the islands generated heavy showers on Oahu and Maui. There were no reports of significant property damage or injuries.
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 Mar 17, 11:10 AM HST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 17, 11:10 AM HST, 3 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1110 AM HST TUE MAR 17 2009 .SYNOPSIS... AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BRING SOME UNSETTLED WEATHER TO THE 50TH STATE TODAY AND TONIGHT WITH THE BIG ISLAND EXPECTED TO GET MOST OF THE WEATHER. LIGHT WINDS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THROUGH THE REST OF TODAY...WITH A RETURN TO TRADE WINDS EXPECTED LATE WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY. && .DISCUSSION... THE FORECAST LOOKS ON TRACK. STRATIFORM...MULTILAYERED CLOUDS HAVE BEEN AFFECTING MAINLY THE BIG ISLAND AND LITTLE IF ANY OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS SO FAR. JUDGING FROM THE WEB CAMS AT THE 2 BIG ISLAND SUMMITS...APPEARS THERE ARE SOME NEW SNOW ON THE GROUND SINCE DAYBREAK. WEATHER RADAR CURRENTLY SHOWS LAYERED CLOUDS ABOVE 15000 FEET OVER THE SMALL ISLANDS SPREADING NORTHEASTWARD. KAUAI COUNTY IS AT THE EDGE AND SHOULD BE THE LEAST AFFECTED. THE CORE OF THE DEEPER MOISTURE IS STILL SOUTHWEST OF THE REMAINING ISLANDS HOWEVER. SO DO EXPECT THE CLOUD BASES TO LOWER TO AROUND 10000 FEET THIS AFTERNOON RESULTING WITH A BETTER CHANCE FOR RAIN. THE AIR MASS BELOW THESE CLOUDS IS FORECAST TO BE MARGINALLY MOIST ACROSS THE REMAINING SMALLER ISLANDS. IN OTHER WORDS...OAHU AND MAUI COUNTY APPEARS SAFE FROM EXCESSIVE RAIN WITH THIS EVENT. BUT THE THREAT OF EXCESSIVE RAIN REMAINS WITH THE BIG ISLAND...WHICH HAS BEEN THE TARGET BY THE GFS MODEL ALL ALONG...PARTICULARLY FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THEREFORE THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT. THE BACK EDGE OF THE DISTURBANCE IS LOCATED FROM 21N163W TO 15N165W TO 11N 167W...OR ABOUT 500 MILES SOUTHWEST OF THE MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND. IT IS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT AROUND 30 MPH. AT THIS SPEED...WE EXPECT GENERAL IMPROVEMENT...CLEARING...OVER KAUAI COUNTY TONIGHT...FOLLOWED BY OAHU WEDNESDAY MORNING...AND MAUI COUNTY MID MORNING AND INTO THE EARLY AFTERNOON. LOOK FOR SOME IMPROVEMENT OVER THE BIG ISLAND WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. WIND-WISE...IT IS LIGHT TRADES ACROSS THE OPEN WATERS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS AND LIGHT TO MODERATE OVER THE KAU WATERS OF THE BIG ISLAND. WINDS OVER LAND WILL BE LIGHT AND VARIABLE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. TWENTY FOUR HOUR PRESSURE CHANGES SHOWS A POSITIVE STRENGTHENING TREND. SO EXPECT THE TRADES TO CONTINUE STRENGTHENING AND SPREADING WESTWARD TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. && .AVIATION... BE ADVISED THAT THE STRATIFORM LAYERED CLOUDS CONTAIN LIGHT RIME ICING. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST AIRMETS FOR MORE DETAILS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THE BIG ISLAND THROUGH 8 PM TONIGHT. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS UNTIL 8 PM HST THIS EVENING. && H LAU
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Honolulu
- When
- March 17, 9:54 PM HST to March 18, 1:10 AM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, 0.42 mi NW of Kahuku to 2.07 mi SE of Waikane
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 21.684, -157.955
Heavy Rain, Maui
- When
- March 19, 12:39 PM HST to 2:08 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 1.77 mi ESE of Honokohau to 1.47 mi SSW of Makawao
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 21.013, -156.594
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Wildfire in Texas, March 17, 2009
- Dense Fog in Kentucky, March 17, 2009
- Dense Fog in Missouri, March 17, 2009
- Dense Fog in Illinois, March 17, 2009
- Drought in Oklahoma, March 17 to 31, 2009
- Drought in Florida, March 17 to 31, 2009
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 17 to 18, 2009
- Flooding in Indiana, March 17 to 25, 2009
- Flood in South Dakota, March 17 to 31, 2009
- Flood in South Dakota, March 17 to 26, 2009
- Flood in South Dakota, March 17 to 24, 2009
- Wildfire in Texas, March 17, 2009
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 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: 153912, 153913, 153914.