High Surf, Kauai Windward
- When
- May 19, 8:00 AM HST to 11:00 PM HST
- Where
- Kauai Windward forecast zone
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- Newspaper
High Surf in Hawaii, May 19, 2009
A low north of the islands generated surf of 10 to 15 feet along the north facing shores, and 6 to 10 feet along the east facing shores, of Kauai. A 69-year-old man from California almost drowned and suffered critical injuries after swimming in waters 100 yards offshore from Moloaa Bay in northeast Kauai in the early afternoon of the 19th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 low north of the islands generated surf of 10 to 15 feet along the north facing shores, and 6 to 10 feet along the east facing shores, of Kauai. A 69-year-old man from California almost drowned and suffered critical injuries after swimming in waters 100 yards offshore from Moloaa Bay in northeast Kauai in the early afternoon of the 19th. The current in the area became too strong for the man. There were no reports of serious property damage.
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 19, 4:00 AM HST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 19, 4:00 AM HST, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 AM HST TUE MAY 19 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A WEAKENING FRONT NEAR THE ISLANDS WILL CONTINUE TO BRING CLOUDS AND SHOWERS MAINLY TO THE WINDWARD SECTION OF THE BIG ISLAND. LINGERING CLOUDS FROM THE FRONT MAY AFFECT THE REST OF THE ISLANDS AT TIMES. A LOW NORTH OF THE ISLANDS WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN TO A TROUGH IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS...BRINGING LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION... A WEAKENING FRONT REMAINS JUST EAST OF BIG ISLAND THIS MORNING. THE MAIN CLOUD BAND ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT CONTINUE TO AFFECT THAT ISLAND...SPECIALLY OVER THE WINDWARD AREAS AND BRINGING SHOWERS AT TIMES. OVERNIGHT RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE QUITE LOW...AS AIR MASS REMAINS QUITE STABLE BEHIND THE FRONT. WINDWARD BIG ISLAND RECEIVED THE MOST...THOUGH 6 HOUR TOTALS VARIED FROM A QUARTER TO HALF AN INCH. IT WAS PRETTY DRY FOR THE REST OF THE ISLANDS. WINDS HAVE ONCE AGAIN STRENGTHENED OVER THE SUMMITS OF BIG ISLAND AND MAUI OVERNIGHT. THUS HAVE POSTED WIND ADVISORY FOR THOSE AREAS EARLY THIS MORNING. DO EXPECT THE WINDS TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY AND SHOULD FINALLY DECREASE BY THIS EVENING. THE LOW THAT BROUGHT US THIS WEAKENING FRONT IS STILL ABOUT 400 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS. STILL EXPECT THIS LOW TO SAG SOUTH A LITTLE FURTHER IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS...BUT AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH LIFTS NORTHEAST...THIS LOW WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN WITH NOT MUCH IMPACT ON OUR WEATHER. LOOK FOR LIGHT NORTHERLY WINDS TO PREVAIL OVER THE STATE WITH LINGERING LOW CLOUDS AFFECT THE ISLANDS AT TIMES TODAY AND TONIGHT. AIR MASS IN THE AREA WILL REMAIN STABLE...THUS PRECIPITATION...IF ANY...WILL REMAIN ON THE LIGHTER SIDE. AS THIS LOW FURTHER WEAKENS AND SLOWLY MOVES BACK NORTH...A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE REMAINS OVER THE ISLANDS FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. HENCE EXPECT LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS WITH DAYTIME SEA BREEZES AND NIGHTTIME LAND BREEZES TO RETURN. LOOK FOR A WEAK CONVECTIVE TYPE WEATHER REGIME TO PREVAIL WITH MOSTLY CLEAR NIGHTS AND MORNINGS...AND CLOUDY AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS WITH A FEW SHOWERS THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK. LATEST FORECAST CHARTS STILL HINT THE RETURN OF LIGHT TRADES BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. SHALL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THIS UNFOLDS IN TIME. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY BIG ISLAND AND HALEAKALA SUMMITS UNTIL 6 PM HST. && HUI
Event by event
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Florida, May 19 to 24, 2009
- Rip Current in Louisiana, May 19, 2009
- Heat in California, May 19, 2009
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, May 19, 2009
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Florida, May 19, 2009
- Flood in Alaska, May 19 to 24, 2009
- Frost and Freeze in New York, May 19, 2009
- Hail in Montana, May 19, 2009
- Frost and Freeze in Vermont, May 19, 2009
- Frost and Freeze in Massachusetts, May 19, 2009
- High Wind in Idaho, May 19, 2009
- Frost and Freeze in Connecticut, May 19, 2009
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, May 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: 163824.