Drought in Hawaii, January 1 to 31, 2014

Name: Drought in Hawaii, January 1 to 31, 2014
Start: 2014-01-01T00:00
End: 2014-01-31T23:59
Location: Hawaii

January 1 to 31, 2014 · NWS HFO · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

Drought conditions, D2 classification or worse, persisted through January over parts of Molokai, Lanai, Maui, and the Big Island of Hawaii. However, rainfall initiated by fronts and upper troughs through the month alleviated most of these conditions by early February.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

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 Dec 31, 8:30 PM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 8:30 PM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST TUE DEC 31 2013

.SYNOPSIS...
DRY AND STABLE CONDITIONS WITH AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES ARE EXPECTED BY
WEDNESDAY...THOUGH IT MAY TAKE A FEW HOURS FOR SHOWER ACTIVITY
AROUND THE BIG ISLAND TO DIMINISH TONIGHT. A FRONT WILL SPREAD MORE
WIDESPREAD RAIN...AND NORTHERLY WINDS...ACROSS THE STATE FROM
THURSDAY INTO THE WEEKEND. LIGHT TRADE WINDS AND DRIER CONDITIONS
WILL PREVAIL BY EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
OBSERVATIONS FROM AROUND THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS REPORTED
GENERALLY LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS...BUT DATA FROM OFFSHORE BUOYS
SHOWED A LIGHT EASTERLY PREVAILING FLOW. PRECIPITATION ACROSS MOST
OF THE STATE WAS SPARSE...BUT BRIEF THUNDERSTORMS AND TOWERING
CUMULI PRODUCED SUBSTANTIAL RAIN OVER PARTS OF THE BIG ISLAND.

ALOFT...CONDITIONS COULD BE DESCRIBED BEST AS NEUTRAL...OR PERHAPS
WEAK RIDGING...BUT A SHALLOW TROUGH PERSISTED JUST TO THE EAST. THE
COLD POOL ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE STILL EXTENDED PARTLY OVER
THE BIG ISLAND...CONTRIBUTING TO THE INSTABILITY ENCOURAGING DEEP
CONVECTION THERE.

GUIDANCE AGREED FAIRLY WELL THAT CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO
STABILIZE THROUGH THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS AS THE MID-LEVEL TROUGH TO
THE EAST DAMPS OUT AND MOVES AWAY TO THE NORTHEAST. A DIURNAL SHIFT
TOWARD LAND BREEZES ALSO WILL HELP TO PUSH OFFSHORE ANY LINGERING
CONVECTION THROUGH THE NEXT SIX HOURS.

HOWEVER...BY LATE IN THE WEEK A FRONT WILL APPROACH THE STATE FROM
THE NORTHWEST. WINDS AHEAD OF THIS INCOMING FEATURE WILL BECOME
SOUTHERLY...THOUGH SPEEDS SCARCELY CAN DIMINISH FROM CURRENT
CONDITIONS.

ALTHOUGH THE FRONT IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE VERY STRONG...GUIDANCE DID
PREDICT A SHORT WAVE PASSING NEARBY ON THE BROAD BUT SHALLOW
MID-LEVEL TROUGH TO THE NORTH TO PROVIDE A MEASURE OF SUPPORT.
ALSO...THE SOUTHERLY FLOW AHEAD OF THE FRONT IS LIKELY TO BRING UP
SUFFICIENT ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE FROM THE DEEP TROPICS TO SUPPORT
PRECIPITATION. THUS...THE FRONT WILL BRING RAIN...BOTH FROM
PRE-FRONTAL SHOWERS...AND WITH THE RAIN BAND ITSELF. THE MAIN BAND
SHOULD REACH KAUAI BY THURSDAY NIGHT...AND THEN THE BIG ISLAND BY
SATURDAY MORNING. A BRIEF BURST OF NORTHERLY WINDS WILL FOLLOW THE
FRONT...BUT GUIDANCE PREDICTED THE PREVAILING WIND DIRECTION TO
BECOME NORTHEASTERLY AGAIN BY SUNDAY. SOME SOLUTIONS HINTED THAT
SHOWER ACTIVITY MAY LINGER AROUND THE BIG ISLAND INTO MONDAY...SO
EARLY NEXT WEEK COULD END UP LOOKING VERY MUCH LIKE TONIGHT.

&&

.MARINE...
WINDS AND SEAS WILL DECLINE THROUGH THE SHORT RUN...BUT CONDITIONS
MAY APPROACH THE THRESHOLD FOR A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY AGAIN AS EARLY
AS THURSDAY...WHEN WINDS WILL INCREASE FROM THE SOUTH.

THE CURRENT NORTHWEST SWELL WILL CONTINUE TO DECLINE OVERNIGHT...BUT
ANOTHER MODERATE SWELL WILL ARRIVE FROM THE NORTHWEST BY LATE
THURSDAY...AND THEN CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NONE.

&&

RYSHKO

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 31, 8:41 PM HST, 3 hours 19 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
841 PM HST TUE DEC 31 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0630 PM     HEAVY RAIN       2 SSE WAIKII            19.85N 155.65W
12/31/2013  U0.00 INCH       HAWAII             HI   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SADDLE ROAD CLOSED BETWEEN MM41 AND MM53 DUE TO DEBRIS ON
            ROAD CAUSED BY HEAVY RAINFALL.

&&

SHOUSTON

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Molokai Leeward

When: January 1, 12:00 AM HST to January 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Molokai Leeward forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought, Lanai Makai

When: January 1, 12:00 AM HST to January 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Lanai Makai forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought, Lanai Mauka

When: January 1, 12:00 AM HST to January 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Lanai Mauka forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Maui Leeward West

When: January 1, 12:00 AM HST to January 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Maui Leeward West forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Maui Central Valley

When: January 1, 12:00 AM HST to January 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Maui Central Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought, Leeward Haleakala

When: January 1, 12:00 AM HST to January 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Leeward Haleakala forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Drought, Kona

When: January 1, 12:00 AM HST to January 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Kona forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Kohala

When: January 1, 12:00 AM HST to January 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Kohala forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Big Island Interior

When: January 1, 12:00 AM HST to January 31, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Big Island Interior forecast zone
Reported by: Drought Monitor
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Hawaii in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, January 2014

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: 489267, 489268, 489269, 489270, 489271, 489272, 489273, 489274, 489275.