Dust Devil, Maui
- When
- May 31, 12:25 PM HST to 12:35 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 1.43 mi S of Kihei to 1.41 mi S of Kihei
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 20.729, -156.449
Dust Devil in Hawaii, May 31, 2012
A dust devil ripped a corrugated roof off a bus base yard structure in Kihei on the island of Maui. The airborne 30 x 40-foot roof took down power lines before landing against a nearby home on Paulele Place.
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
- $20,000
- 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 dust devil ripped a corrugated roof off a bus base yard structure in Kihei on the island of Maui. The airborne 30 x 40-foot roof took down power lines before landing against a nearby home on Paulele Place. There were no reports of 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, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 10:00 AM HST, 2 hours 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1000 AM HST THU MAY 31 2012 .SYNOPSIS... MODERATE LOCALLY BRISK TRADE WINDS WILL PERSIST WELL INTO NEXT WEEK. SHOWERS WILL FAVOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS...WITH SOME PASSING OVER LEEWARD AREAS. && .DISCUSSION... SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE STRETCHING EAST/WEST ALONG 30N WILL PUT THE ISLANDS IN MODERATE LOCALLY BRISK TRADE WINDS THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK. TRADE SHOWERS WILL WET WINDWARD SECTIONS...WITH SOME SHOWERS CROSSING OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF KAUAI OAHU AND MOLOKAI TO LEEWARD AREAS. MODELS ARE MORE OR LESS IN AGREEMENT IN MOVING A MID-LEVEL LOW SOUTHWESTWARD OVER THE STATE NEXT MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THE LOW AND ITS COOL TEMPERATURES ALOFT MAY ENHANCE SHOWERS...ESPECIALLY OVER THE BIG ISLAND. THE PRESENT FORECAST DOES NOT CALL FOR A CHANCE OF HEAVY SHOWERS...BUT THEY MAY BE ADDED IN TOMORROW AFTERNOON/S FORECAST PACKAGE. THE 24 HOUR WAIT WILL LET US GET A BETTER FEEL ON THE CHANCES OF HEAVY PRECIPITATION. AS FOR THUNDERSTORMS...MODELS CURRENTLY SAY NO. WILL KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THAT POSSIBILITY...SHOULD GUIDANCE CHANGE TO FAVORING THUNDER. && .MARINE... MODERATE TO BRISK TRADES WILL LIKELY PERSIST THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT OVER THE WINDIER AREAS BETWEEN OAHU AND THE BIG ISLAND. THE SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THESE AREAS HAS BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH THE WEEKEND TO REFLECT THIS POSSIBILITY. OTHER COASTAL WATERS WILL APPROACH ADVISORY CRITERIA AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY FROM TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY. A NORTHWEST SWELL HAS ARRIVED...PUTTING BELOW ADVISORY SURF ALONG NORTH FACING SHORES. SURF WILL REMAIN ROUGH AND CHOPPY ALONG EAST-FACING SHORES...BUT HEIGHTS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW ADVISORY LEVELS. && .AVIATION... SIGMET NOVEMBER CONTINUES FOR MODERATE TO SEVERE CLEAR AIR TURBULENCE PRODUCED BY A STRONG SUBTROPICAL JET STREAM OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY EXTENDED UNTIL 6 AM HST MONDAY FOR KAIWI PAILOLO AND ALENUIHAHA CHANNELS...MAALAEA BAY AND WATERS SOUTH OF THE BIG ISLAND. && CRAIG
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 dust devil. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Dust Devil
- A small rotating column of dust from surface heating that caused damage or injury.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Louisiana, May 31, 2012
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 31, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Florida, May 31, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Louisiana, May 31, 2012
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, May 31, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 31, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 31, 2012
- Damaging Winds in Tennessee, May 31, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 31, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 31, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 31, 2012
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, May 31, 2012
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, May 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: 380481.