High Surf, Niihau
- When
- May 4, 8:00 AM HST to May 5, 3:00 AM 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 in Hawaii, May 4 to 5, 2014
A late season swell from the northwest generated surf of 10 to 15 feet along the north- and west-facing shores of Niihau and Kauai. No significant injuries or property damage were reported.
Where it happened
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.
- 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
- 3
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 late season swell from the northwest generated surf of 10 to 15 feet along the north- and west-facing shores of Niihau and Kauai. No significant injuries or property damage were reported.
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 May 4, 4:00 AM HST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 4, 4:00 AM HST, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 AM HST SUN MAY 4 2014 .SYNOPSIS... A SURFACE RIDGE WILL REMAIN NORTHWEST OF KAUAI THROUGH MID-WEEK. THE RIDGE WILL BRING MOSTLY DRY WEATHER AND LIGHTER THAN NORMAL WINDS. A FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST MAY REACH KAUAI LATE IN THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... AS OF 300 AM SUNDAY...SATELLITE LOOPS AND SURFACE OBSERVATIONS SHOW QUITE A BIT OF CLOUDINESS OVER THE AREA...BUT THESE ARE MOSTLY THIN HIGH CLOUDS AND STABLE LOW CLOUDS. RADARS AND RAIN GAGES ARE SHOWING VERY LITTLE RAINFALL OVER THE ISLANDS. LIGHT OFFSHORE LAND BREEZES PREVAIL. THE LIGHT WINDS AND DRY WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY MORNING. ONSHORE SEA BREEZES WILL DEVELOP LATER TODAY AND PRODUCE CLOUDS AND SOME SHOWERS OVER INTERIOR AREAS BY THIS AFTERNOON. THE 200 AM BALLOON SOUNDINGS FROM LIHUE AND HILO SHOW THE ATMOSPHERE REMAINS RATHER DRY AND STABLE SO RAINFALL WILL BE LIGHT. THE GLOBAL MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT SHOWING AN UNUSUALLY LARGE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE BETWEEN THE ALEUTIANS AND THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. THIS WILL KEEP THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE WEAKER AND FARTHER SOUTH THAN USUAL. GENTLE TO FRESH TRADE WINDS WILL CONTINUE NEAR THE BIG ISLAND...BUT THE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE SMALLER ISLANDS WILL REMAIN RATHER SLACK...AND LOCAL LAND AND SEA BREEZES WILL BE MORE WIDESPREAD THAN USUAL. TRADE WINDS WILL PUSH A FEW SHOWERS ASHORE OVER WINDWARD AREAS... ESPECIALLY ON THE BIG ISLAND. THESE SHOWERS WILL BE MOST ACTIVE DURING THE NIGHTS AND EARLY MORNINGS. IN ADDITION...SOME SHOWERS WILL FORM OVER LEEWARD AND INTERIOR AREAS DURING THE AFTERNOONS DUE TO ONSHORE SEA BREEZES. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL REMAIN QUITE DRY AND RATHER STABLE THROUGH MOST OF THE WEEK SO RAINFALL WILL BE LIGHT. LATE IN THE WEEK THE GLOBAL MODELS SHOW A FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST. THIS FRONT MAY REACH KAUAI BEFORE STALLING...BUT IT IS STILL TOO SOON TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW FAR THE FRONT WILL MOVE. IN ANY CASE...WINDS ARE LIKELY TO SHIFT OUT OF THE SOUTH NEAR KAUAI WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY AS THE FRONT APPROACHES. THEN WE MAY FINALLY SEE A RETURN OF BREEZY TRADE WINDS NEXT WEEKEND AS A HIGH BUILDS EAST BEHIND THE FRONT. && .AVIATION... AN ANTICYCLONIC CURVED 80 TO 100 KT JET REMAINS N OF KAUAI. LAST EVENING WE RECEIVED MULTIPLE REPORTS OF TEMPO MODERATE CAT ABOVE FL300. AIRMET TANGO REMAINS UP FOR THIS TURBULENCE. THE JET WILL GRADUALLY LIFT NE AND TURBULENCE IS FORECAST TO BECOME ISOLATED BY MIDDAY. LIGHT NIGHTTIME LAND BREEZES WILL GIVE WAY TO GENTLE DAYTIME SEA BREEZES. EXPECT SHOWER ACTIVITY TODAY TO BE FOCUSED OVER INLAND AREAS WITH ONLY ISOLATED SHOWERS OVER WATER. CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY WILL BE SHALLOW. A PATCHY CIRRUS DECK WILL REDUCE DAYTIME HEATING WHILE A STRONG LOW-LEVEL SUBSIDENCE INVERSION SHOULD ACT AS A CAP. EXPECT VFR CIGS AND VIS TO PREVAIL OVER ALL AREAS. && .MARINE... A NORTHWEST SWELL THAT HIT BUOY 51101 YESTERDAY AFTERNOON PEAKED OVERNIGHT AT 8 FEET AND 14 SECONDS. SURF ALONG NORTH AND WEST SHORES WILL PEAK NEAR MIDDAY TODAY JUST BELOW THE ADVISORY THRESHOLD. ONLY SMALL SURF IS EXPECTED ELSEWHERE. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && DISCUSSION/MARINE...DONALDSON AVIATION...BEDAL
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
High Surf, Kauai Windward
- When
- May 4, 8:00 AM HST to May 5, 3:00 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai Windward forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Kauai Leeward
- When
- May 4, 8:00 AM HST to May 5, 3:00 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai Leeward forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, May 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: 512613, 512614, 512615.