Wildfire, Kona
- When
- May 31, 2:00 PM HST to 11:59 PM HST
- Where
- Kona forecast zone
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in Hawaii, May 31, 2011
A lightning strike ignited a brush fire on the Big Island on state land at Puuanahulu in the leeward part of the isle. The blaze covered an area of about 500 acres of fountain grass.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
- 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 lightning strike ignited a brush fire on the Big Island on state land at Puuanahulu in the leeward part of the isle. The blaze covered an area of about 500 acres of fountain grass. The fire did not engulf any threatened or endangered plant species. The costs of any damages were not available. There were no serious 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 May 31, 10:08 AM HST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 10:08 AM HST, 3 hours 52 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1008 AM HST TUE MAY 31 2011 .SYNOPSIS... MODERATE TO FRESH TRADE WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN SLIGHTLY INTO THURSDAY...AND THEN DIMINISH FROM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. A LOW ALOFT WILL BE PRESENT ACROSS THE STATE THROUGH SATURDAY...ENHANCING TRADE SHOWERS AND BRINGING A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY ACROSS ALL THE ISLANDS. LEEWARD BIG ISLAND AND SUMMITS COULD ALSO GET A FEW THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON. && .DISCUSSION... A MID/UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED JUST NORTHEAST OF THE BIG ISLAND THIS MORNING IS EXPECTED TO SLOWLY MOVE WESTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL PART OF THE STATE THROUGH FRIDAY. THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO THEN WEAKEN AND SLOWLY MOVE EAST AWAY FROM HAWAII THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. AT THE SURFACE...MODERATE TO FRESH TRADE WINDS CONTINUE TO BLOW AND POWERED BY A 1033 MB HIGH 1200 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE STATE. WITH THIS PATTERN IN PLACE...EXPECTING TO HAVE ENHANCED TRADE WIND SHOWERS...POTENTIALLY HEAVY AT TIMES PARTICULARLY ACROSS WINDWARD AND MAUKA LOCATIONS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE STATE TOMORROW THROUGH THURSDAY. THE FRESH TRADE WIND FLOW IS EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY INCREASE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY BEFORE GRADUALLY WEAKENING AGAIN FRIDAY AND THROUGH THIS WEEKEND. THE STRONGER TRADES WILL KEEP SHOWERS MOVING OVER THE ISLANDS...SO WHILE HEAVY SHOWERS WILL BE POSSIBLE THEY SHOULD NOT REMAIN OVER ONE LOCATION FOR A LONG TIME. THE GENERAL PREMISE WILL BE THAT WE ARE EXPECTING PASSING MODERATE SHOWERS WITH OCCASIONAL POCKETS OF HEAVY SHOWERS AND POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS FOR ALL AREAS. THE ONE EXCEPTION WILL BE ACROSS THE LEEWARD BIG ISLAND AND SUMMITS WHICH COULD GET CONVECTION GOING FROM AFTERNOON HEATING AND SEA BREEZES THIS AFTERNOON AS WELL AS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY DURING THE DAY. THE COLD AIR ALOFT USHERING IN FROM THE MID/UPPER LOW WILL BRING THE CHANCE FOR SNOW SHOWERS ON THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. A SHOWERY BAND OF CLOUDS IS PRESENT DIRECTLY UPSTREAM ACROSS WINDWARD WATERS THIS MORNING. THERE ARE A FEW EMBEDDED TOWERING CUMULUS CLOUDS WITHIN THIS BAND. THIS BAND IS EXPECTED TO OCCASIONALLY PUSH SHOWERS ONTO THE ISLANDS THROUGH THE DAY AND WILL FILL IN MORE THIS EVENING...AND AS MENTIONED BECOMING MORE WIDESPREAD WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. MANY OF THESE SHOWERS WILL STILL REMAIN INTO FRIDAY BUT THE LOW ALOFT AND THE TRADE WINDS WILL BEGIN TO WEAKEN AT THAT TIME...SO IT SHOULD BE A LESS ACTIVE AND A TRANSITION DAY. THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WILL BUILD EAST OF THE STATE AND THE TRADES WILL WEAKEN FURTHER THROUGH THE WEEKEND...REACHING GENTLE LEVELS BY SUNDAY AND VEERING SLIGHTLY SOUTH OF EAST. && .AVIATION... 12Z SOUNDINGS FROM LIHUE AND HILO SHOW INVERSIONS ARE WEAKER...BUT REMAIN IN PLACE JUST ABOVE 6KFT. LOW LEVEL WINDS ARE 25-30 KNOTS PER SOUNDINGS AND ACARS PROFILES OUT OF HONOLULU. THESE INGREDIENTS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT LOW LEVEL TURBULENCE IN THE LEE OF THE MOUNTAINS. WAVE CLOUDS CAN ALSO BE SEEN OVER AND DOWNSTREAM OF KAUAI AND OAHU. A SHOWERY BAND OF CLOUDS IS LOCATED OVER AND IMMEDIATELY UPSTREAM OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS. CEILINGS ACROSS WINDWARD SECTIONS HAVE DROPPED TO 020-025 IN SHOWERS. WITH THE ADDITIONAL SHOWERS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AT LEAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...HAVE ISSUED AN AIRMET FOR MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS FOR WINDWARD SECTIONS OF THE SMALLER ISLANDS. && .MARINE... LOCALLY STRONG TRADE WINDS FUNNELING AROUND THE TYPICAL WINDY ZONES SURROUNDING THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI COUNTY TODAY WILL PRODUCE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY /SCA/ CONDITIONS. THE SCA REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL WEDNESDAY MORNING BUT WINDS WILL BE ON THE RISE AT THAT TIME THROUGH THURSDAY. WILL LIKELY SEE AN EXTENSION IN TIME AND A POSSIBLE EXPANSION TO COVER MORE ZONES IN THE ADVISORY BEFORE THEN. SMALL BACKGROUND SWELLS FROM THE SOUTH WILL PERSIST OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. A MODERATE WEST-NORTHWEST SWELL IS DUE IN SUNDAY WHICH WILL CONTINUE INTO THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR KAIWI CHANNEL- MAALAEA BAY-PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND LEEWARD WATERS-BIG ISLAND SOUTHEAST WATERS. && DISCUSSION/MARINE...FOSTER AVIATION...BRAVENDER
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Marine Strong Wind in Lake Michigan, May 31, 2011
- Tornado and Hail in Michigan, May 31, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, May 31, 2011
- High Wind in North Dakota, May 31, 2011
- High Wind in California, May 31, 2011
- Hail in New Mexico, May 31, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Texas, May 31, 2011
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Lake Superior, May 31, 2011
- Drought in Florida, May 31, 2011
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Washington, May 31, 2011
- Hail in Texas, May 31, 2011
- Hail in Missouri, May 31, 2011
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, May 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: 308646.