Heavy Rain, Honolulu
- When
- January 10, 1:42 PM HST to 4:08 PM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, 1.09 mi NW of Makaha Valley to 0.75 mi SSE of Kailua
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 21.492, -158.211
Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Hawaii, January 10 to 11, 2011
A cold front passing through the islands generated heavy rain and showers, causing flash flooding in parts of Maui. No serious injuries were reported.
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
- 6
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 cold front passing through the islands generated heavy rain and showers, causing flash flooding in parts of Maui. No serious injuries were reported. The costs of any damages were not available.
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 Jan 10, 12:48 PM HST, 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 10, 12:48 PM HST, 54 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1248 PM HST MON JAN 10 2011 .UPDATE... WINDS OVER THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS HAVE INCREASED TO ADVISORY LEVELS...HENCE A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED THROUGH THE EVENING. && .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP DOWN THE ISLAND CHAIN TODAY AND TONIGHT... BRINGING SHOWERS TO THE SMALLER ISLANDS DURING THE DAY AND TO THE BIG ISLAND TONIGHT. ONE MORE BRIEF ROUND OF COOL AND DRY WEATHER WILL FOLLOW BEHIND THE FRONT ON TUESDAY. A STRONGER FRONT WILL PRODUCE WET AND WINDY WEATHER OVER MUCH OF THE STATE DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE WORK WEEK. POTENTIALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL DEVELOP ON WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY. && .PREV DISCUSSION.../ISSUED 959 AM HST MON JAN 10 2011/ A COLD FRONT APPROACHING KAUAI WILL BRING CLOUDY SKIES TO THE STATE TODAY AND MODERATE SHOWERS AS THE FRONT MOVES QUICKLY DOWN THE THE ISLAND CHAIN. FRONTAL RAINS WILL REACH KAUAI BY MID-MORNING...OAHU IN THE LATE AFTERNOON...AND MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE AHEAD OF THE FRONT TODAY...WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS AFFECTING HIGHER TERRAIN AND WINDWARD AREAS PRONE TO DOWN-SLOPE ACCELERATING WINDS. THOUGH GUSTY...WIDESPREAD DAMAGING WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED. THE FRONT WILL BE WEAKENING AND MOVING QUITE FAST... KEEPING THE THREAT OF FLOODING VERY LOW. WINDS ACROSS THE SUMMITS OF HALEAKALA AND THE BIG ISLAND WILL INCREASE WITH THE APPROACH OF THE FRONT AND A WIND ADVISORY FOR HALEAKALA GOES INTO AFFECT THIS EVENING. THE BIG ISLAND SUMMIT WINDS LOOK TO BE JUST UNDER ADVISORY LEVELS AS THE FRONT PUSHES THROUGH. LAYERED CLOUDS BRING THE CHANCE FOR SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS TONIGHT...BUT ACCUMULATIONS LOOK TO BE LOW...SO NO WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED. FOR LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...NORTH WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT BRING COOL AND DRY AIR OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS AGAIN WHILE THE BIG ISLAND HANGS ON TO SOME LINGERING MOISTURE LEFT BEHIND BY THE AFOREMENTIONED COLD FRONT. COOL TEMPS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS EARLY TUESDAY MORNING...WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES PREVAILING THROUGH TUESDAY. A STRONGER COLD FRONT LOOMS ON THE HORIZON FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BRING STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL WITH THE LARGEST IMPACTS OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS. THE ATMOSPHERE BECOMES INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE FRONT APPROACHES...BRINGING THE POSSIBILITY THUNDERSTORMS ALONG WITH THE HEAVY RAINFALL. ALSO...THE 12Z RUN OF THE GFS DEPICTS 5 THOUSAND FOOT WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH OVER KAUAI AND OAHU WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT WHICH WOULD BRING HAZARDOUS...DOWNSLOPING SOUTHWESTERLY WIND GUSTS OVER WINDWARD AREAS AND LOCALES NORTH OF TERRAIN. THE HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT WILL CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY AS THE FRONT STALLS OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS...BUT WINDS WILL DIMINISH. A HYDROLOGIC OUTLOOK... ESFHFO...HAS BEEN ISSUED HIGHLIGHTING THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING AS THE FRONT EFFECTS THE ISLANDS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. THE STALLED FRONT WILL WEAKEN THURSDAY NIGHT AS THE SUPPORTING UPPER TROUGH LIFTS OUT TO THE NORTHEAST AND WEAK UPPER RIDGING REBUILDS. REMNANT FRONTAL MOISTURE MAY LINGER THROUGH FRIDAY...KEEPING SHOWER CHANCES A BIT HIGH AS SOUTHERLY WINDS PERSIST. FORECAST CONFIDENCE DROPS CONSIDERABLY AS DOES MODEL AGREEMENT HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND. THE ECMWF BUILDS TRADE WINDS OVER THE ISLANDS ON SATURDAY THEN WEAKENS WINDS AS ANOTHER FRONT APPROACHES. THE GFS TRIES TO PUSH IN ANOTHER WEAK FRONT CLOSE TO KAUAI BY SUNDAY...KEEPING THE ISLANDS UNDER SOUTHERLIES. HAVE OPTED TO GO WITH THE GFS...WHICH HAS PERFORMED BETTER IN RECENT WEEKS. && .AVIATION... CURRENT COLD FRONT TO BRING MVFR AND ISOL IFR CONDITIONS AS IT CROSSES THE FA TODAY AND INTO TUE. AIRMETS HAVE BEEN POSTED FOR MT OBSC/TURB/ICING. PLEASE SEE THE AVN PRODUCTS FOR MORE DETAILS. && .MARINE... THE SMALL CRAFT FLAG WILL BE UP FOR AT LEAST PORTIONS OF HAWAIIAN WATERS INTO THURSDAY. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES CURRENTLY COVER ALL WATERS AROUND THE WESTERN END OF THE STATE NORTH AND WEST OF MAUI. COMBINED SEAS ARE EXPECTED TO BE NEAR THE 10 FOOT THRESHOLD TODAY...WHILE WINDS WILL PEAK AROUND 25 KT AHEAD OF THE FRONT. A LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL WILL BUILD TONIGHT...PRODUCING HAZARDOUS SEAS. THIS SWELL WILL BE CONFUSED...MEANING IT WILL HAVE BOTH LONG AND SHORT PERIOD ENERGY. IT WILL GENERATE SURF ABOVE ADVISORY LEVELS BEGINNING LATER TONIGHT...AND A HIGH SURF ADVISORY HAS BEEN POSTED. ANOTHER PULSE OF LONG PERIOD WEST NORTHWEST SWELL IS DUE TUESDAY NIGHT...POSSIBLY PUSHING SURF TO WARNING LEVELS. SURF WILL REMAIN ELEVATED THROUGH WEDNESDAY...WITH ADDITIONAL BOUTS OF HIGH SURF POSSIBLE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 PM HST WEDNESDAY FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI WINDWARD-KAUAI LEEWARD-WAIANAE COAST-OAHU NORTH SHORE-OAHU KOOLAU-MOLOKAI-MAUI WINDWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY- WINDWARD HALEAKALA. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT HST TONIGHT FOR HALEAKALA SUMMIT- BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST TUESDAY FOR KAUAI NORTHWEST WATERS-KAUAI WINDWARD WATERS-KAUAI LEEWARD WATERS-KAUAI CHANNEL- OAHU WINDWARD WATERS-OAHU LEEWARD WATERS-KAIWI CHANNEL-MAUI COUNTY WINDWARD WATERS-MAUI COUNTY LEEWARD WATERS-MAALAEA BAY- PAILOLO CHANNEL. && MORRISON
The radar
The Molokai radar (PHMO), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:39 UTC.
Event by event
5 heavy rain, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Maui
- When
- January 10, 3:50 PM HST to 6:36 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 1.86 mi SSE of Papohaku Beach Park to 1.81 mi SSE of Halawa Valley
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 21.144, -157.264
Heavy Rain, Maui
- When
- January 10, 3:54 PM HST to 6:38 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 7.78 mi W of Shipwreck Beach to 2.15 mi ENE of Manele Harbor
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 20.900, -157.039
Flash Flood, Maui
- When
- January 10, 6:25 PM HST to 9:10 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 0.92 mi NNE of Olowalu to 1.85 mi NE of Olowalu
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Reported by
- Law Enforcement
- Coordinates
- 20.811, -156.623
Flooding and debris flow across parts of Honoapiilani Highway between Maalaea and Olowalu on Maui forced county officials to close the road for a time.
Heavy Rain, Maui
- When
- January 10, 9:16 PM HST to January 11, 12:12 AM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 0.41 mi SW of Kokomo to 0.52 mi SSW of I Kihei
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 20.865, -156.304
Heavy Rain, Hawaii
- When
- January 11, 3:30 PM HST to 9:21 PM HST
- Where
- Hawaii County, 3.15 mi SE of Waipio Valley to 0.37 mi NNW of Volcano
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 20.097, -155.536
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 10 to 11, 2011
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in South Carolina, January 10 to 13, 2011
- Ice Storm in South Carolina, January 10, 2011
- Ice Storm in Georgia, January 10, 2011
- Ice Storm in Georgia, January 10, 2011
- Winter Weather in Missouri, January 10 to 11, 2011
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Kentucky, January 10 to 13, 2011
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 10, 2011
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 10 to 11, 2011
- Hail and Lightning Strike in Florida, January 10, 2011
- Winter Weather in Iowa, January 10 to 11, 2011
- Winter Weather in Kansas, January 10 to 11, 2011
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 2011
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: 274153, 274157, 274161, 274170, 274176, 274209.