Dust Devil, Maui
- When
- August 19, 4:00 PM HST to 4:30 PM HST
- Where
- Maui County, 2.46 mi SW of Pukalani to 2.86 mi SW of Pukalani
- Reported by
- Newspaper
- Coordinates
- 20.808, -156.380
Dust Devil in Hawaii, August 19, 2013
A dust devil enchanted residents of central Maui as it spun west of Kula. The phenomenon caused no serious property damage or injuries.
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.
A dust devil enchanted residents of central Maui as it spun west of Kula. The phenomenon caused no serious property damage or 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 Aug 19, 4:00 PM HST, 0 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 19, 4:00 PM HST, 0 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 PM HST MON AUG 19 2013 .SYNOPSIS... WEAKENING TRADE WINDS WILL CARRY POCKETS OF MOISTURE ACROSS THE ISLANDS DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. TRADE WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND WITH A TYPICAL PATTERN OF WINDWARD AND MAUKA SHOWERS PREVAILING. && .DISCUSSION... TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO GRADUALLY DECLINE INTO WEDNESDAY. DEEP TROUGHING IN THE CENTRAL NORTH PACIFIC HAS ERODED AND DISPLACED THE SURFACE HIGH FAR OFF TO THE NORTHEAST OF THE STATE. THIS IS ERODING THE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE ISLANDS AND LEADING TO A DECLINE IN THE TRADE WINDS. TRADES WILL CONTINUE A SLOW DECLINE THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS A CUTOFF LOW DEVELOPS ABOUT 700 MILES NORTHWEST OF KAUAI. AS A RESULT...EXPECT LEEWARD SEA BREEZES AND CLOUD COVER TO BECOME MORE EXTENSIVE ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. THE CUTOFF WILL ALSO SEND PERIODS OF HIGH CLOUDS OVERHEAD. POCKETS OF MOISTURE MOVING ALONG THE TRADE WIND FLOW WILL AFFECT MAINLY WINDWARD PORTIONS OF THE STATE IN THE SHORT TERM. A POORLY ORGANIZED AREA OF CLOUDS AND SHOWERS JUST EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND WILL SPREAD OVER WINDWARD BIG ISLAND AND MAUI COUNTY TONIGHT. MID LEVEL RIDGING OVERHEAD WILL MAINTAIN STABLE CONDITIONS...KEEPING SHOWER INTENSITY LIGHT TO MODERATE. EXPECT THIS SHOWER AREA TO FADE TOMORROW...BUT LEEWARD AREAS COULD SEE AN ISOLATED AFTERNOON SHOWER AS SEA BREEZES KICK IN. ANOTHER POORLY DEFINED SHOWER AREA COULD AFFECT THE AREA...BUT CONFIDENCE IS LOW. TRADE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY STRENGTHEN THURSDAY INTO THE WEEKEND. THE ABOVE MENTIONED CUTOFF LOW WILL BE PUSHED WESTWARD BY BUILDING HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT EAST AND NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS. THIS WILL LEAD TO A SLOW INCREASE IN THE TRADES...POSSIBLY TO LOCALLY BREEZY LEVELS BY THE WEEKEND. STABLE CONDITIONS WILL DOMINATE...KEEPING SHOWERS FOCUSED ACROSS TYPICAL WINDWARD SLOPES. && .AVIATION... MOISTURE MOVING IN FROM THE EAST TONIGHT WILL PRODUCE MVFR CIGS AND VIS IN SHRA OVER WINDWARD SLOPES OF MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND. ELSEWHERE VFR WILL PREVAIL. PERIODS OF HIGH LVL CI WILL CONTINUE. && .MARINE... NOT MUCH TO TALK ABOUT SURF-WISE AS TYPICALLY SMALL CONDITIONS PREVAIL ON NORTH FACING SHORES AND BELOW NORMAL SUMMERTIME CONDITIONS CONTINUING ON SOUTH AND EAST FACING SHORES. NO BIG CHANGES ARE IN STORE WITH EASTERLY TRADE WIND SWELL REBUILDING AS TRADES INCREASE LATER IN THE WEEK. MODERATE TRADE SPEEDS WILL PRECLUDE THE ISSUANCE OF ANY SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES THROUGH AT LEAST THURSDAY. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && WROE
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
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Georgia, August 19 to 20, 2013
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Georgia, August 19 to 20, 2013
- Wildfire in Idaho, August 19 to 27, 2013
- Dense Fog in Kentucky, August 19, 2013
- Dense Fog in Illinois, August 19, 2013
- Flood in Georgia, August 19, 2013
- Dense Fog in Missouri, August 19, 2013
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Gulf of Mexico, August 19, 2013
- Flash Flooding in New Mexico, August 19, 2013
- Marine Thunderstorm Wind in Gulf of Mexico, August 19, 2013
- Wildfire in Washington, August 19 to 29, 2013
- Wildfire in California, August 19 to 26, 2013
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, August 2013
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: 468565.