An upper trough moving over the islands from the northwest spawned heavy rain and flash flooding conditions. A married couple from Hana, Maui, were apparently swept away by swollen stream waters on Thanksgiving night as they tried to make their way back to their home.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
An upper trough moving over the islands from the northwest spawned heavy rain and flash flooding conditions. A married couple from Hana, Maui, were apparently swept away by swollen stream waters on Thanksgiving night as they tried to make their way back to their home. The couple's vehicle was found downstream the next day, but the individuals themselves were not located. No serious property damage was reported.
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 Nov 26, 3:35 AM HST, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 335 AM HST THU NOV 26 2009 .SYNOPSIS... TRADE WINDS WILL DOMINATE THE WEATHER SCENE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS OF THE NEW WEEK. ALONG WITH THE TRADE WINDS ARE THE SHOWERS THAT USUALLY FAVORS THE WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS. WITH THE STIFFER TRADES...DO EXPECT THE SHOWERS TO VENTURE DOWNWIND INTO THE LEEWARD AREAS FROM TIME TO TIME. && .DISCUSSION... A SURPRISE DRENCHING HAS COME AND GONE FOR OAHU WHO WAS THE MAIN RECIPIENT OF SOME BENEFICIAL RAINS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THESE SHOWERS STEMMED FROM AN AREA OF ORGANIZED SHOWERS CAUGHT IN THE TRADE WIND FLOW THAT WAS BEING ENHANCED BY AN UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH OR DISTURBANCE. JUST ABOUT EVERY PART OF OAHU GOT SOME RAIN. THERE WILL STILL BE SOME LINGERING SHOWERS OVER ON THE LEEWARD SIDE EARLY THIS MORNING...BUT THESE SHOWERS SHOULD BE RETREATING BACK TO THE WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS BY MID MORNING WITH AMPLE SUNSHINE ON TAP ON THIS THANKSGIVING DAY 2009. HERE ARE SOME OUTSTANDING RAINFALL FIGURES DURING A 12 HOUR PERIOD ENDING AT 2 AM HST. AMOUNTS ARE IN INCHES MANOA - 6.63. NUUANU UPPER - 6.32. OAHU FORREST RESERVE 4.78. MOANALUA - 2.91. MAKAHA STREAM - 1.11. HONOLULU AIRPORT - 1.02. THE TRICKY ASPECT IS THE AMOUNT OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. THERE IS CURRENTLY A LACK AS NOTED BY THE LACK OF TRADE SHOWERS AFFECTING MAUI COUNTY AND WINDWARD BIG ISLAND THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. THE HILO SOUNDING IS DRIER AS WELL AS COMPARED TO YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. THE NEXT SOURCE OF TRADE WIND SHOWERS IS ABOUT 500 MILES EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND WHERE SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THE LEADING EDGE OF A FIELD OF STRATOCUMULUS CLOUDS. THESE CLOUDS IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE ISLANDS TONIGHT. WITH THIS IN MIND...THE GENERAL CONSENSUS OF THE FORECAST MODELS POINTS TO THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH TO MOVE THROUGH THE CENTRAL ISLANDS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AND CLEARING THE BIG ISLAND BY FRIDAY EVENING. THE INTERACTION OF THIS TROUGH ON THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE COMING IN...IS WE ANTICIPATE AT LEAST SCATTERED TRADE SHOWERS STARTING TONIGHT WITH A FEW OF THEM BLOWN DOWNWIND INTO THE LEEWARD ZONE. WE DO NOT EXPECT THEM TO BE HEAVY NOR DO WE EXPECT A REPEAT OF WEDNESDAY EVENING ON OAHU. ONCE THE TROUGH IS EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND...WE EXPECT MORE OF THE SCATTERED VARIETY ACROSS THE WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS. ADDITIONALLY THE INVERSION GETS LOWERED FROM 12000 TO 9000 FEET. THIS DRIER TREND IS ONLY TEMPORARILY AS ANOTHER SHORTWAVE TROUGH DESCEND ON THE ISLANDS SUNDAY. && .MARINE... THE CURRENT LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL CONTINUES TO SUBSIDE BUT NOT ENOUGH TO LIFT THE HIGH SURF WARNING. THE WAIMEA BUOY SUGGEST THE SURF STILL TOPPING 25 FEET FROM TIME TO TIME. WILL THEREFORE EXTEND TO HIGH SURF WARNING TO NOON TODAY. THIS SHOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME TO ALLOW THE SURF TO DROP AND STAY BELOW 25 FEET...THE THRESHOLD FOR WARNING. ONCE THIS HAPPENS...THE WARNING WILL BE REPLACED WITH AN ADVISORY. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR BOTH THE LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL AND FOR INCREASING TRADE WINDS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF WARNING UNTIL 12 PM HST TODAY FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI WINDWARD-KAUAI LEEWARD-WAIANAE COAST-OAHU NORTH SHORE-OAHU KOOLAU-MOLOKAI-MAUI WINDWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-WINDWARD HALEAKALA. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM HST FRIDAY FOR ALL HAWAIIAN WATERS. && H LAU
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy rain, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Hanalei Bridge was closed because flood waters inundated the structure and Kuhio Highway in that part of north Kauai.
Heavy rain caused the Honomaele Stream to rise above its normal level. A married couple from Hana, Maui, apparently tried to cross the stream when it was flowing rapidly with the heavy rain waters. Their vehicle was located the next day downstream, but the man and wife were not found.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain, Maui | 2009-11-26 | 75 | Male | In Water | Direct |
| Heavy Rain, Maui | 2009-11-26 | 75 | Female | In Water | Direct |
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, November 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: 199742, 199743, 199744.