High Surf in Hawaii, March 30 to 31, 2013

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, March 30 to 31, 2013
Start: 2013-03-30T08:00
End: 2013-03-31T23:59
Location: Hawaii

March 30 to 31, 2013 · NWS HFO · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A swell from a low far northwest of the islands caused surf of 10 to 15 feet along the north- and west-facing shores of Niihau and Kauai, and the north-facing shores of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui. There were no reports of serious injuries or property damage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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.

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 Mar 30, 6:20 AM HST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 30, 6:20 AM HST, 1 hour 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
620 AM HST SUN MAR 30 2013

.SYNOPSIS...
THE COLD FRONT THAT MOVED ACROSS THE SMALLER ISLANDS YESTERDAY IS
DISSIPATING OVER THE ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL THIS MORNING. ANOTHER RAIN
BAND WILL LIKELY GIVE THE SMALLER ISLANDS ANOTHER SHOT OF SCATTERED
SHOWERS MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT BEFORE A DRIER...COOLER AIR MASS
SETTLES OVER THE ISLANDS. THE NORTHERLY WINDS WILL GRADUALLY BECOME
TRADES BY THURSDAY... STRENGTHENING FROM LIGHT TO MODERATE BY THE
WEEKEND.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
THE COLD FRONT THAT MOVED ACROSS THE SMALLER ISLANDS YESTERDAY IS
DISSIPATING OVER THE ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL THIS MORNING. SHOWERS EASED
OFF AHEAD OF THE FRONT...ACROSS MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND...AS THE
EVENING PROGRESSED. BUT...THERE IS A FLARE UP WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS
ALONG THE HAMAKUA COAST OF THE BIG ISLAND AND AN ISOLATED HEAVY
SHOWER LOCATED JUST OFF THE KONA COAST NEAR CAPTAIN COOK. THE
SHOWERS ON THE WINDWARD SIDE ARE MOVING SOUTHEAST WHILE THE SHOWER
ON THE KONA SIDE IS MOVING SOUTH. THIS MOVEMENT OF THE SHOWERS TELLS
US THE LOW LEVEL WIND FLOW IS NOW NORTHERLY EAST OF THE FRONT.

WEST OF THE FRONT IS A LOW CLOUD FIELD OF MAINLY STABLE
STRATOCUMULUS...BROKEN IN COVERAGE. THE RAOB SOUNDING FROM LIHUE
THIS MORNING SHOWS A SOLID 4 DEGREE C INVERSION BETWEEN 4700 AND
5400 FEET. WEATHER RADAR IS NOT PICKING UP MUCH OF ANY SHOWERS WITH
THESE CLOUDS BUT DO EXPECT A FEW SPRINKLES AS THEY SKIRT THE
MOUNTAIN RANGES OF KAUAI AND OAHU. ALSO...ALTHOUGH THE COVERAGE IS
BROKEN NOW...DAYTIME HEATING AND THE WIND WILL DISPERSE MOST OF IT
RESULTING IN A MOSTLY TO PARTLY SUNNY EASTER SUNDAY FOR ESPECIALLY
KAUAI AND OAHU. MAUI COUNTY WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE THIS MORNING.
THERE IS STILL A COUPLE OF POST FRONTAL SHOWERS LOITERING AROUND
THE WINDWARD SIDE.

THE MODELS ARE POINTING TO ANOTHER RAIN BAND COMING DOWN ON THE
ISLANDS FROM THE NORTHWEST...DISSIPATING OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS
LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY. REMNANT MOISTURE MAY REACH WINDWARD BIG
ISLAND TUESDAY. THESE SHOWERS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SURFACE LOW
CURRENTLY 980 MILES NORTH NORTHEAST OF OAHU. THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO
HEAD NORTHEASTWARD...AWAY FROM THE ISLANDS MONDAY.

CURRENTLY...THE BRISK NORTHERLY WINDS ARE CONTROLLING THE AREA WEST
OF OAHU. IT SHOULD BE EASING OFF SLIGHTLY TO LIGHT TO MODERATE
SPEEDS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. A WEAK SURFACE HIGH IS EXPECTED TO
PASS NORTH OF OAHU WEDNESDAY THEN MERGE WITH AN EXISTING SURFACE
HIGH FAR EAST NORTHEAST OF THE ISLANDS THURSDAY. AS A RESULT...THE
NORTHERLY WINDS WILL VEER TO EAST NORTHEASTERLY BY THURSDAY. WHAT
THIS MEAN IS THE RETURN OF THE TYPICAL TRADE SHOWERS...SHOWERS THAT
WILL FAVOR THE WINDWARD AND MOUNTAIN AREAS...AND MOST ACTIVE DURING
THE NIGHT AND MORNING HOURS. A STRONG MID LEVEL RIDGE WILL HELP
MINIMIZE THE AMOUNT AND FREQUENCY OF THE TRADE SHOWERS. THUS WE
EXPECT A RATHER DRY TRADE WIND PATTERN. THE STRENGTH OF THE TRADES
WILL BUILD TO MODERATE SPEEDS BY THE WEEKEND.

WINDS ATOP THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS HAVE PICKED UP...WITH SPEEDS
REACHING WARNING LEVEL OF 45 MPH AT THE CANADA FRANCE OBSERVATORY.
THUS...WE HAVE UPPED THE WIND ADVISORY TO A HIGH WIND WARNING WHICH
IS GOOD UNTIL 9 AM HST MONDAY MORNING. MODELS ARE INDICATING WARNING
LEVEL WINDS TO CONTINUE THROUGH 9 AM MONDAY BUT THIS WILL SUFFICE
FOR NOW.

&&

.AVIATION...
A STRONG JET STREAM ALOFT ABV FL260 WILL PRODUCE MODERATE CLEAR-AIR
TURBULENCE OVER THE ISLANDS. OTHERWISE...VFR CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED TO PREVAIL TODAY.

&&

.MARINE...
THE SMALL CRAFT ADVY...SCA...WAS EXPANDED EARLIER...AND NOW COVERS
THE WATERS WEST OF MOLOKAI. THE SCA COVERING OAHU IS DUE MAINLY TO
SEAS. WHILE WATERS AROUND KAUAI IS A COMBO WIND AND SWELL. THE SCA
IS GOOD UNTIL 6 PM HST MONDAY.

THE NORTHWEST SWELL IS ON TRACK AS FORECAST. WAIMEA BUOY IS
CURRENTLY AT 7 TO 8 FEET 15 SECONDS. THE SWELL PEAKED AT 9 FEET AT
BUOY 51101 A SHORT TIME AGO.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF ADVISORY THROUGH 6 AM HST MONDAY FOR NORTH AND WEST FACING
SHORES OF KAUAI AND NIIHAU...AND NORTH FACING SHORES OF OAHU MOLOKAI
AND MAUI.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST MONDAY FOR WATERS WEST OF
MOLOKAI.

HIGH WIND WARNING FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS UNTIL 9 AM HST MONDAY.

&&

LAU

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Niihau

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Niihau forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kauai Windward

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Kauai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Kauai Leeward

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Kauai Leeward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Oahu North Shore

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Oahu North Shore forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Oahu Koolau

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Oahu Koolau forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Molokai Windward

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Molokai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Molokai Leeward

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Molokai Leeward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Maui Windward West

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Maui Windward West forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Maui Central Valley

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Maui Central Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Windward Haleakala

When: March 30, 8:00 AM HST to March 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Windward Haleakala forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

What these are

High Surf: Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Hawaii in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, March 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: 434633, 434634, 434635, 434636, 434637, 434638, 434639, 434640, 434641, 434642.