A strong upper low near Hawaii helped generate two waterspouts in the vicinity of Kauai. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries.
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The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
A strong upper low near Hawaii helped generate two waterspouts in the vicinity of Kauai. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries.
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 Apr 6, 10:00 AM HST, 4 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST WED APR 6 2011 .SYNOPSIS... AN UPPER LOW WILL MOVE JUST SOUTH OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS BY EARLY THURSDAY. THE ATMOSPHERE IS ALREADY UNSTABLE AND INCREASING MOISTURE WILL CIRCULATE UP FROM THE SOUTH. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THURSDAY. SOME AREAS MAY EXPERIENCE HEAVY PRECIPITATION. MOISTURE WILL LINGER OVER THE ISLANDS INTO THE WEEKEND BUT SHOWERS WILL NOT BE AS HEAVY BY THEN. WINDS WILL BECOME SOUTHEASTERLY THURSDAY. TRADES WILL RETURN BRIEFLY SUNDAY WHEN THE UPPER LOW SHIFTS WESTWARD BUT WINDS WILL AGAIN BE SOUTHEASTERLY FOR THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK WHEN ANOTHER LOW DEVELOPS TO THE NORTHWEST. && .DISCUSSION... AN UPPER LOW PRESENTLY 400 MILES NORTHWEST OF KAUAI HAS AN ASSOCIATED TROUGH EXTENDING TO ABOUT 250 MILES SOUTH OF THE ISLANDS. BY EARLY THURSDAY THE LOW WILL HAVE CONSOLIDATED SOUTHWEST OF KAUAI. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS ACTIVE CONVECTION EMBEDDED IN A BROAD AREA OF CLOUDS SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS. SATELLITE ESTIMATES INDICATE DEEP MOISTURE OVER THIS AREA. COMPUTER MODELS SEEM IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON HANDLING THIS FEATURE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. HIGHER LEVEL CLOUDS AREA MOVING OVER THE ISLANDS AND WILL PERSIST FOR SEVERAL MORE DAYS. THIS MAY ACT TO INHIBIT SURFACE HEATING OVER THE ISLANDS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE PRODUCE STRONGER CONVECTIVE SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. AREAS OF HEAVY PRECIPITATION ARE OF MOST CONCERN OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. INCREASING MOISTURE IS MODELED TO CIRCULATE AROUND THE LOW ONTO THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THURSDAY AND CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY. THE ATMOSPHERE IS QUITE UNSTABLE...TEMPERATURES NEAR 20 THOUSAND FEET ARE NEAR MINUS 18 DEGREES CENTIGRADE. LATE THIS MORNING THE WEATHER RADAR SHOWED ONLY ISOLATED MODERATE TO HEAVY SHOWERS OVER THE ISLANDS BUT A FEW THUNDERSHOWERS WERE REPORTED EARLIER AND HEAVY SHOWERS OCCURRED OVER THE KOOLAU MOUNTAINS OF OAHU. BEFORE DAWN THIS MORNING THERE WERE ALSO VERY STRONG CONVECTIVE SHOWERS OVER OCEAN AREAS WITHIN RANGE OF THE RADAR. SCATTERED HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS COULD FORM MOST ANYWHERE OVER THE ISLANDS TODAY. DUE TO THE INCREASE IN DEEPER MOISTURE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY PRECIPITATION MAY BY EARLY THURSDAY ASSUME THE CHARACTER OF CLOUDY RAINY WEATHER ALTHOUGH WITH A CONTINUING POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THE SUMMITS OF THE BIG ISLAND IS IN EFFECT AND THE POSSIBILITY EXISTS OF UPGRADING TO A WINTER WEATHER WARNING IF IT APPEARS THERE IS A GREATER CHANCE OF SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL. SOUTHEAST WINDS OVER THE SUMMITS OF THE BIG ISLAND WILL INCREASE THURSDAY...PERHAPS TO THE 30 MPH THRESHOLD THAT WOULD REQUIRE A WIND ADVISORY. A BROAD SURFACE TROUGH WILL FORM JUST WEST OF KAUAI TONIGHT AND SHIFT TOWARD OAHU THURSDAY. WINDS WILL BECOME MODERATE SOUTHEASTERLY THURSDAY. TRADES APPEAR BRIEFLY FOR SUNDAY AFTER THE UPPER LOW MOVES WEST AND WEAKENS BUT ANOTHER TROUGH WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST DURING THE FIRST PART OF THE WEEK CAUSING SURFACE WINDS TO AGAIN BLOW FROM THE SOUTHEAST. && .PREV FORECAST 4 AM... WITH WINDS PRETTY LIGHT THROUGH MOST OF THE ATMOSPHERE DURING THIS TIME...IT IS UNLIKELY THAT THE RESULTING THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS AT THE SURFACE. HOWEVER...RAINFALL HEAVY ENOUGH TO CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING CERTAINLY WILL BE POSSIBLE. AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS...PRECIPITATION LIKELY WILL FALL AS SNOW OR ICE PELLETS...AND HAIL COULD EVEN REACH SEA LEVEL IN STRONGER STORMS. THIS CONVECTIVE PRECIPITATION ALSO WILL BE QUITE SPOTTY...WITH GREAT DIFFERENCES IN ACCUMULATION ACROSS SMALL DISTANCES. HOWEVER...GIVEN THE COMBINATION OF MOISTURE FROM THE SURFACE TROUGH AND ADVECTED UP FROM THE DEEP TROPICS BY SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW...IT IS FAIR TO SAY THAT MID-WEEK LOOKS PRETTY WET FOR MOST AREAS. WHAT COURSE THE WEATHER TAKES FROM FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND IS LESS CERTAIN...MAINLY BECAUSE THE MOTION OF CUT-OFF LOWS CAN BE NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT TO PREDICT...BUT IF THIS FEATURE DOES LINGER SOUTHWEST OF THE STATE AS MOST SOLUTIONS EXPECT...THEN STRATUS RAIN PROBABLY WILL REPLACE THE CONVECTION GRADUALLY ACROSS THE ARCHIPELAGO. THE SURFACE TROUGH TO THE WEST MAY TEMPORARILY TIGHTEN THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ENOUGH LOCALLY TO BOOST WIND SPEEDS OVER THE NORTHEAST COASTAL WATERS FROM FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY...AND THE CURRENT FORECAST REFLECTS THIS POSSIBILITY. HOWEVER...A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE IN THE TRACK OF THE LOW COULD EASILY THROW THIS PART OF THE FORECAST OFF. EVENTUALLY...THE WINDS WILL ASSUME MORE TYPICAL SPEEDS AND AN EASTERLY TO NORTHEASTERLY ORIENTATION...THE BETTER TO CARRY AWAY TO THE WEST MOST OF THE CONVERGED MOISTURE. RECENT RUNS PREDICT THIS CHANGE OCCURRING NO EARLIER THAN MONDAY OR TUESDAY...OR PERHAPS LATER IF AN APPROACHING FRONT TURNS THE FLOW SOUTHEASTERLY AGAIN AROUND NEXT TUESDAY. && .MARINE... THE LINGERING NORTH SWELL HAS NECESSITATED THE EXTENSION OF THE HIGH SURF FOR NORTH AND EAST SHORES OF THE WESTERN ISLANDS THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES FOR SEAS AT OR ABOVE 10 FEET FOR THIS WESTERN AREA HAS ALSO BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT FOR ALL HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST TODAY FOR NORTH-FACING AND EAST-FACING SHORES OF KAUAI AND OAHU...AND FOR NORTH-FACING SHORES OF NIIHAU. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST FRIDAY FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST TODAY FOR KAUAI NORTHWEST WATERS-KAUAI WINDWARD WATERS-KAUAI LEEWARD WATERS-KAUAI CHANNEL- OAHU WINDWARD WATERS-KAIWI CHANNEL. && HOAG/RYSHKO
The South Kauai radar (PHKI), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:03 UTC.
2 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.
Lihue Tower personnel at the airport reported a waterspout in waters about 15 miles north/northeast of their location.
A Kauai Civil Defense official relayed a report of a waterspout east of Wailua and Kapaa.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaiian Waters in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather history
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 288729, 288730.