A strong upper trough moving from the northwest re-energized the remnants of an old front. Heavy rain drenched the Garden Isle of Kauai, producing flash flooding in some instances.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
A strong upper trough moving from the northwest re-energized the remnants of an old front. Heavy rain drenched the Garden Isle of Kauai, producing flash flooding in some instances. The inclement weather spread to other isles as well. However, there were no reports of significant injuries. The costs of any property damages were not available.
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 Mar 26, 4:00 PM HST, 3 hours 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 PM HST TUE MAR 26 2013 .SYNOPSIS... A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE ISLANDS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. A PASSING UPPER TROUGH WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN...THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY FOR KAUAI AND OAHU. QUIETER WEATHER WILL RETURN LATE THURSDAY...BUT UNSETTLED WEATHER IS POSSIBLE AGAIN THIS WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION... WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SHOWS A LONGWAVE UPPER TROUGH EXTENDING FROM FAR NORTH TO FAR WEST OF THE STATE. A SHORTWAVE EMBEDDED WITHIN THIS TROUGH IS LOCATED ABOUT 400 MILES WEST NORTHWEST OF KAUAI...AND IS MOVING TO THE EAST SOUTHEAST AT 25 MPH. AT THE SURFACE...A WEAKENING FRONT IS NEARLY STATIONARY OVER THE NORTHERN OFFSHORE WATERS...WITH A WEAK TROUGH NEAR OAHU. 00Z SOUNDINGS SHOW A WEAK INVERSION NEAR 6KFT AT HILO...WITH NO INVERSION AT LIHUE. PRECIPITABLE WATERS RANGE FROM 1.2 INCHES AT HILO TO NEAR 1.5 INCHES AT LIHUE. EARLY AFTERNOON MIMIC TOTAL PRECIPITABLE WATER IMAGERY SHOWED DRIER AIR CONTINUING TO MOVE TOWARD THE BIG ISLAND FROM THE EAST...WITH HIGHER VALUES OVER 1.4 INCHES FROM OAHU TO KAUAI. VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THE GREATEST CLOUD COVERAGE IS LOCATED NORTH AND NORTHEAST OF THE STATE...ASSOCIATED WITH THE OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY. A PORTION OF THESE CLOUDS EXTENDS ACROSS KAUAI AND FARTHER TO THE WEST SOUTHWEST. WITHIN THIS BAND...SHOWERS HAVE BEEN PRETTY PERSISTENT OVER KAUAI TODAY. ACROSS THE REST OF THE STATE... AFTERNOON CLOUDS AND SHOWERS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS THE INTERIOR OF THE ISLANDS. THE STRONGEST AFTERNOON CONVECTION HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS OAHU...CLOSER TO THE SURFACE TROUGH. THE WEAK PRESSURE GRADIENT ASSOCIATED WITH THE TROUGH ALLOWED SEA BREEZES TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE ISLAND...AND CONVERGENCE ALONG THE SEA BREEZES COMBINED WITH THE UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE HAS LEAD TO THE STRONGER SHOWERS. THIS ACTIVITY WILL WEAKEN SHORTLY AS SUNSET APPROACHES. THE SHORTWAVE WEST NORTHWEST OF THE STATE WILL MOVE TOWARD THE ISLANDS...APPROACHING KAUAI AFTER MIDNIGHT...AND OAHU AND MAUI COUNTY ON WEDNESDAY. COLDER MID-LEVEL AIR ASSOCIATED WITH THIS TROUGH WILL HELP TO FURTHER DESTABILIZE THE AIRMASS...AND DYNAMICS ASSOCIATED WITH IT WILL HELP TO ENHANCE ANY CONVECTION THAT DEVELOPS ALONG THE SURFACE TROUGH. AN UNMODIFIED LIHUE SOUNDING SHOWS NEARLY 1000 J/KG OF CAPE WHEN LIFTING A MIXED-LAYER PARCEL. A FEW RAIN GAGES ACROSS KAUAI HAVE RECEIVED 1-2 INCHES OF RAIN OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS...AND SOME STREAM GAGES ARE RUNNING HIGHER THAN NORMAL. WITH THIS ALREADY SATURATED ENVIRONMENT...IT WILL TAKE LESS FUTURE RAIN FOR KAUAI TO EXPERIENCE FLASH FLOODING. SHOWERY CLOUDS CONTINUE TO FEED INTO KAUAI FROM THE NORTH/NORTHEAST...AND THESE SHOWERS SHOULD STRENGTHEN TONIGHT AS THE SHORTWAVE APPROACHES. THE CORE OF THE SHORTWAVE IS EXPECTED TO PASS JUST NORTH OF THE AREA...WITH THE MOST UNSTABLE CONDITIONS AFFECTING KAUAI AND OAHU. THIS IS THE REASON FOR THE MENTION OF THUNDERSTORMS AND FOR THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR THESE ISLANDS. DRIER AIR WILL LIMIT THE RAINFALL POTENTIAL OVER THE BIG ISLAND...BUT MAUI COUNTY IS IN MORE OF A TRANSITION ZONE. THEY SHOULD SEE ENHANCED SHOWERS ESPECIALLY WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT...AND IF THE UPPER TROUGH TRACKS FARTHER SOUTHEAST WE MAY NEED TO ADD A MENTION OF HEAVY RAIN AS WELL. THE 12Z/18Z GFS TRY TO HOLD THE UPPER TROUGH OVER THE STATE FOR THE END OF THE WEEK...WEAKENING IT IN PLACE. THE ECMWF CONTINUES TO TAKE IT SOUTHEAST...ALLOWING FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF STABILIZATION AND MID-LEVEL DRYING ON THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. A SECOND SHORTWAVE TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO DIG SOUTHEASTWARD TOWARD THE STATE BY THE WEEKEND... BRINGING US ANOTHER ROUND OF POTENTIALLY UNSTABLE CONDITIONS. THIS SYSTEM ORIGINATES FROM HIGHER LATITUDES THAN THE FIRST ONE...AND HELPS TO PROPEL A COLD FRONT ACROSS THE STATE LATE FRIDAY/SATURDAY. DEEP MOISTURE LOOKS TO BE MORE LIMITED THAN WITH THE FIRST SYSTEM... BUT DYNAMICAL FORCING COULD BE STRONGER. STRONGER NORTH TO NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO FILL IN BEHIND THE FRONT FROM LATE SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY. && .AVIATION... KAUAI AND WINDWARD BIG ISLAND WILL CONT TO SEE MVFR CONDITIONS AND MT OBSC THROUGH THE PD. PHLI WILL ALSO SEE FREQ MVFR CONDITIONS... INCREASING AFT 27/1000 UTC. SPREADING EWD TO OAHU THEREAFTER. AIRMET SIERRA MAY BE NECESSARY ON OAHU AFT 27/1200 UTC. ALSO TRIED TO REPRESENT THIS IN THE 27/0000 UTC TAFS WHICH WILL LIKELY REQUIRE FINE TUNING. AFTN CONVECTION WILL PERSIST WITH +RA AND BKN-OVC CIGS AND TOPS TO FL200 FOR LEEWARD/INTERIOR AREAS UNTIL 27/0400 UTC AND SHOULD NOT AFFECT ANY OF THE MAIN TERMINALS. SIGMET QUEBEC FOR HIGH LVL MOD-SEV CAT IS IN EFFECT IMT NW OF KAUAI MOVING EWD. THE STRONGEST TURB LIKELY WILL NOT AFFECT THE LOCAL FA HOWEVER AIRMET TANGO FOR AT LEAST MOD CHOP ALF IS LIKELY AFT 27/1000 UTC AS THE OFFENDING TROUGH NEARS HAWAII. && .MARINE... THE CURRENT NORTHWEST SWELL WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY DIMINISH THROUGH WEDNESDAY. A NEW LONG PERIOD NORTHWEST SWELL ARRIVING LATE FRIDAY WILL POTENTIALLY BRING SURF NEAR ADVISORY LEVELS FOR NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OVER THE WEEKEND. ALTHOUGH WINDS AND SEAS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY LEVELS UNTIL THE WEEKEND...MARINERS SHOULD REMAIN ALERT FOR THE POTENTIAL FOR HAZARDOUS MARINE WEATHER...PRIMARILY TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AROUND KAUAI AND OAHU...WITH THE GREATEST THREATS BEING THUNDERSTORMS AND GUSTY ERRATIC WINDS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON FOR NIIHAU KAUAI AND OAHU. && DISCUSSION/MARINE...BRAVENDER AVIATION...DEJESUS
The South Kauai radar (PHKI), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:02 UTC.
5 heavy rain, 4 flash flood, 1 debris flow. Local standard time, as filed.
Kauai law enforcement and emergency manager reported the closing of the highway at the Hanalei Bridge due to high water reaching the road.
Lihue Police reported runoff and debris at Kapahi Park from the Kapaa Stream.
Emergency managers reported that Puupilo Road in Wailua Homesteads was closed due to flooding.
Emergency managers reported that 12 hikers were airlifted out of Hanakapiai because they could not pass Hanakapiai Stream due to rising water.
Emergency managers reported that Hauaala Road in Keapana was closed due to flooding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 2013
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: 434623, 434624, 434625, 434626, 434627, 434628, 434629, 434630, 434631, 434632.