A cold front moved rapidly through the Aloha State. There were only limited areas of heavy rain as the system moved from west to east across the island chain, though a flash flood did occur in East Maui.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 cold front moved rapidly through the Aloha State. There were only limited areas of heavy rain as the system moved from west to east across the island chain, though a flash flood did occur in East Maui. Also, a male tourist was struck by a falling branch at a golf course on Oahu and died from his injuries.
Power poles and lines, and trees, were downed in several areas as the front pushed through the state; a metal roof was blown off a home in Kunia Camp on Oahu; and three boats ran aground, and a boat lost its moorings, near Hilo on the Big Island. Very strong winds also occurred over the Big Island summits.
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 Jan 21, 9:29 AM HST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 929 AM HST TUE JAN 21 2014 .SYNOPSIS... A FAST MOVING COLD FRONT WILL SWING THROUGH THE ISLAND CHAIN TONIGHT THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY. GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL ARRIVE AHEAD OF THE FRONT OVERNIGHT AND A BRIEF PERIOD OF POTENTIALLY HEAVY SHOWERS WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT WEDNESDAY. A GIANT NORTHWEST SWELL ARRIVING TONIGHT IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE WELL ABOVE NORMAL SURF ALONG MOST NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF THE ALOHA STATE FOR A PROLONGED PERIOD FROM EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING INTO THURSDAY. && .DISCUSSION... THE CURRENT FORECAST PACKAGE REMAINS ON TRACK THIS MORNING WITH THE SIGNIFICANT WEATHER FEATURE FOR THE NEXT 36 HOURS...A COLD FRONT...POISED TO BEGIN IMPACTING THE STATE OVERNIGHT. CURRENTLY THE FRONT IS LOCATED ABOUT 270 MILES TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF KAUAI. SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATES LITTLE IN THE WAY OF ENHANCED CONVECTION IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONT...ALTHOUGH A THIN FRONTAL CONVECTIVE BAND IS PRESENT. AS THE FRONT APPROACHES THE PRESSURE GRADIENT IS EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN ACROSS THE STATE WITH BREEZY SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS DEVELOPING AFTER MIDNIGHT. THESE WINDS WILL LIKELY ACCELERATE AS THEY MOVE OVER HIGHER TERRAIN AND DESCEND INTO WINDWARD KAUAI AND WINDWARD AND CENTRAL OAHU. WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 45 MPH MAY BE BRIEFLY POSSIBLE DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS IN THESE AREAS. THESE GUSTY WINDS MAY BE STRONG ENOUGH TO CAUSE MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE AND POTENTIAL IMPACTS TO LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE...INCLUDING POWER LINES. THE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE ISLAND CHAIN QUICKLY ON WEDNESDAY...WITH IMPACTS IN MAUI COUNTY LATE MORNING THROUGH MID DAY...AND THE BIG ISLAND EARLY AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING. FORECAST MODELS ARE IN LINE WITH CURRENT OBSERVATIONS IN PLACING THE DEEPEST MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT WELL NORTH OF THE STATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL LIKELY LIMIT THE RAINFALL POTENTIAL ACROSS THE AREA. ENOUGH CONVECTIVE LIFT WILL LIKELY BE PRESENT TO GENERATE BRIEF HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS...BUT ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE LIMITED. NORTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL FUNNEL IN BEHIND THE FRONT HELPING TO CLEAR OUT ANY HAZE STILL PRESENT AS WELL AS USHERING IN A COOLER AND DRIER AIRMASS. HIGH PRESSURE WILL FOLD IN ALOFT OVER THE STATE THURSDAY THROUGH THE EARLY PART OF THE WEEKEND WITH GENERALLY QUIET WEATHER CONDITIONS. WINDS ARE ANTICIPATED TO REMAIN WEAK AND NORTHERLY DURING THAT TIME. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. SOUTH/SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL INCREASE AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT...WITH GUSTY WINDS DEVELOPING AT MANY OF THE TERMINALS. SHOWER ACTIVITY SHOULD REMAIN MINIMAL THROUGH THE DAY WITH STABLE CONDITIONS CONTINUING. THE COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE RATHER QUICKLY FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE STATE LATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. CURRENTLY EXPECT THE FRONT TO REACH LIHUE AROUND 22/12Z...HONOLULU AROUND 22/16Z AND HILO AROUND 23/02Z. PERIODS OF MVFR CONDITIONS WITH BRIEF IFR CONDITIONS IN HEAVY SHOWERS WILL BE LIKELY JUST AHEAD OF AND ALONG THE FRONT. CONDITIONS SHOULD QUICKLY RETURN TO VFR BEHIND THE FRONT WITH NORTHWEST WINDS AND VFR CEILINGS IN AREAS OF STRATOCU. && .MARINE... A GIANT NORTHWEST SWELL WAS GENERATED FROM A LOW WITH HURRICANE FORCE WINDS FAR TO THE NORTHWEST OF THE ALOHA STATE. THIS SWELL WILL RESULT IN HIGH SURF WARNING CONDITIONS ALONG MOST NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE LATEST OUTPUT FROM THE WAVEWATCH III MODEL INDICATES THE NORTHWEST SWELL WILL PEAK EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING...WITH SURF HEIGHTS OF 40 TO 50 FEET ALONG NORTH FACING SHORES. THE LARGEST WAVES ARE EXPECTED TO BREAK OVER THE OUTER REEFS AND IN DEEP WATER BAYS...WITH CONSIDERABLE WAVE RUN UP EXPECTED ALONG THE BEACHES. THIS NORTHWEST SWELL WILL BE LONG-LIVED...SO WARNING LEVEL SURF IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY. THIS MEANS THERE WILL LIKELY BE ELEVATED SURF...WAVE RUN UP AND COASTAL INUNDATION FOR MULTIPLE TIDE CYCLES...SO PROPERTY OWNERS AND OTHER INTERESTS ALONG NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES EXPOSED TO THIS LARGE SWELL...INCLUDING THE LEEWARD BIG ISLAND...NEED TO PREPARE FOR AN EXTENDED ONSLAUGHT OF WELL ABOVE NORMAL WAVES. A FAST MOVING FRONT WILL APPROACH KAUAI LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL STRENGTHEN AHEAD OF AND ALONG THE FRONT AS IT PASSES OVER THE STATE. THE WINDS WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE OVER KAUAI COUNTY THIS AFTERNOON...AND THEN SPREAD DOWN THE ISLAND CHAIN FROM TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. THESE STRONG WINDS REQUIRED THE ISSUANCE OF A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY /SCA/ FOR THE KAUAI NORTHWEST WATERS AND WINDWARD WATERS STARTING LATER THIS MORNING. THE ARRIVAL OF THE LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL WILL ALSO RESULT IN SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY /SCA/ CONDITIONS SPREADING ACROSS MOST OF THE HAWAIIAN COASTAL WATERS DUE TO COMBINED SEAS OF 10 FEET OR GREATER. THEREFORE...A SCA HAS ALSO BEEN ISSUED FOR ADDITIONAL COASTAL WATERS AND CHANNELS ADJACENT TO KAUAI...OAHU AND MAUI COUNTY STARTING THIS EVENING. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF WARNING FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM HST FRIDAY FOR NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF NIIHAU KAUAI OAHU MOLOKAI...NORTH FACING SHORES OF MAUI...AND WEST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND. HIGH SURF ADVISORY FROM 6 AM WEDNESDAY TO 6 AM HST FRIDAY FOR BIG ISLAND NORTH AND EAST. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM HST WEDNESDAY FOR KAUAI LEEWARD WATERS-KAUAI CHANNEL-OAHU WINDWARD WATERS-OAHU LEEWARD WATERS-KAIWI CHANNEL-MAUI COUNTY WINDWARD WATERS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST WEDNESDAY FOR KAUAI NORTHWEST WATERS-KAUAI WINDWARD WATERS. && DISCUSSION...CANTIN MARINE...HOUSTON AVIATION...JACOBSON
The South Shore radar (PHWA), 57 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:01 UTC.
1 high wind, 1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
West winds exceeded 100 mph at the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Piilani Highway, or Highway 31, was closed between mile marker 31 and Nuu Landing in East Maui due to high water. This is the Hawelewele Gulch area near Kaupo.
A male tourist from Japan was hit by a falling tree branch at Leilehua Golf Course in central Oahu and died from his injuries.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind, Central Oahu | 2014-01-22 | 55 | Male | Golfing | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 2014
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: 489055, 489052, 489053, 489054.