Heavy Rain, Kauai
- When
- December 4, 8:24 PM HST to December 5, 1:55 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai County, 0.57 mi W of Princeville to 0.87 mi ENE of Poipu
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 22.220, -159.489
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, December 4 to 5, 2012
An upper air low northwest of the Garden Isle of Kauai generated heavy showers and thunderstorms over and adjacent to the island. The rain caused small stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding on roadways.
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
- 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.
An upper air low northwest of the Garden Isle of Kauai generated heavy showers and thunderstorms over and adjacent to the island. The rain caused small stream and drainage ditch flooding, and ponding on roadways. Lightning apparently knocked a radio station off the air for a time, and the inclement conditions forced airlines to delay and cancel several flights to and from the Lihue airport. There were no reports of serious injuries or 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 Dec 4, 4:00 PM HST, 4 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 4, 4:00 PM HST, 4 hours 24 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 PM HST TUE DEC 4 2012 .SYNOPSIS... AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH TO THE WEST-NORTHWEST WILL SLIDE JUST TO THE NORTH OF KAUAI TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING. SHOWERS WILL INCREASE ACROSS KAUAI WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH NOON WEDNESDAY. LAYERED MIDLEVEL AND HIGH CLOUDS WILL BLANKET THE STATE THROUGH WEDNESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD FROM THE SOUTH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND WINDS WILL REMAIN LIGHT THROUGH THE END OF THE WORK WEEK. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE STATE FROM THE WEST FRIDAY NIGHT BUT STALL JUST BEFORE REACHING KAUAI. && .DISCUSSION... AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WEST-NORTHWEST OF HAWAII WILL PROVIDE A BIT OF A FORECAST CHALLENGE OVER THE NEXT 18 HOURS OR SO. THE CURRENT SITUATION IS CHARACTERIZED BY WEAK SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST FLOW WITH A RIDGE ACROSS THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE STATE. THE LIGHT WIND FLOW IS ALLOWING FOR SEA BREEZES TO DOMINATE AND PRODUCE INTERIOR CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. THESE SHOWERS SHOULD WANE ACROSS THE EASTERN PART OF THE STATE AFTER SUNSET. MEANWHILE...LAYERED MID TO HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH A JET STREAM AND UPPER LEVEL DYNAMIC FORCING FROM THE INCOMING TROUGH WILL MOVE OVER ALL ISLANDS DURING THE NEXT FEW HOURS. EMBEDDED IN THESE LAYERED CLOUDS IS A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO THE SOUTH AND WEST OF KAUAI. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE A RESULT OF AN OLD FRONTAL MOISTURE BAND THAT IS BEING INVIGORATED AS IT COMES UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE UPPER TROUGH. THE MODEL 500 MB TEMPERATURES SHOW THE COLD POOL ALOFT REACHING -11 CELSIUS TOMORROW MORNING AROUND KAUAI AND OAHU BEFORE THE TROUGH LIFTS TO THE NORTHEAST DURING THE DAY ON WEDNESDAY. WITH THE MOISTURE...INSTABILITY AND UPPER DYNAMICS IN PLACE...THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER KAUAI THROUGH MIDDAY TOMORROW. MODEL CONSENSUS SHOWS THE FOCUS OF THE PRECIPITATION AND ENERGY WILL BE JUST TO THE WEST OF KAUAI...WITH THE ECMWF...NAM AND CRASPAC MODELS AGREEING ON THIS. THE GFS MEANWHILE BRINGS MORE OF THE ENERGY AND QPF OVER THE ISLAND OF KAUAI. THE EXPECTED NORTHEASTERLY TRAINING OF THE RAIN AND THUNDERSTORMS COULD MAKE FOR A POTENTIALLY A LOT OF RAIN ACROSS KAUAI...OR A NEAR MISS TO THE JUST TO THE NORTHWEST. EITHER WAY...KAUAI SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR TONIGHT. THE RAIN SHOULD BEGIN TO MOVE OFF TO THE NORTHEAST BY MIDDAY WEDNESDAY AS THE UPPER TROUGH LIFTS AWAY. THE MIDLEVEL AND HIGH CLOUDS COVERING THE WHOLE STATE TONIGHT WILL DRIFT AWAY EASTWARD BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THESE CLOUDS MAY BE LOW ENOUGH TO BRING SOME FOG AND LIGHT ICING OVER THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS TONIGHT AND / OR WEDNESDAY NIGHT. BY LATE WEDNESDAY AND INTO THE END OF THE WORK WEEK...A SURFACE RIDGE WILL GRADUALLY BUILD BACK FROM THE SOUTHEAST...BRINGING LIGHT WINDS AND SLIGHTLY DRIER CONDITIONS ACROSS THE ISLANDS. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR SEA BREEZES...AFTERNOON INTERIOR CLOUDS WITH A FEW SHOWERS TO RESUME. A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH THE STATE FROM THE WEST FRIDAY NIGHT BUT STALL JUST BEFORE REACHING KAUAI. MODELS INDICATE SOUTHEAST WINDS STRENGTHENING OVER THE WEEKEND WHILE THE FRONT IS PUSHED BACK TO THE WEST. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL OVER MOST OF THE STATE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS...WITH ISOLATED AREAS OF MVFR. AFTER MIDNIGHT...AN APPROACHING SHORTWAVE WILL ACT TO DESTABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE... ESPECIALLY NEAR KAUAI...LEADING TO MVFR/IFR CIGS/VIS IN +SHRA...AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF +TSRA. NO AIRMETS ARE CURRENTLY IN EFFECT. && .MARINE... THE LATEST NORTHWEST SWELL WILL REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY LEVELS UNTIL IT SUBSIDES. THE NEXT NORTHWEST SWELL OF SIMILAR SIZE IS SLATED TO ARRIVE OVER THE WEEKEND AND COULD REACH ADVISORY LEVELS. NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT SWELLS ARE EXPECTED. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && DISCUSSION/MARINE...FOSTER AVIATION...KINEL
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding and Lightning Strikes in Arkansas, December 4, 2012
- High Wind in Wyoming, December 4 to 5, 2012
- High Wind in Montana, December 4 to 5, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, December 4, 2012
- Winter Storm and High Wind in Wyoming, December 4 to 5, 2012
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Gulf of Mexico, December 4, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, December 4 to 5, 2012
- Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Mississippi, December 4, 2012
- High Wind in Washington, December 4, 2012
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, December 4, 2012
- Hail in Texas, December 4, 2012
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, December 2012
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: 419076.