Heavy Rain, Honolulu
- When
- May 5, 5:12 PM HST to 7:07 PM HST
- Where
- Honolulu County, 2.27 mi ENE of Wahiawa to 0.43 mi SE of Honouliuli
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 21.509, -157.986
Heavy Rain in Hawaii, May 5, 2014
A late afternoon sea breeze boundary, located over central sections of Oahu, created unstable conditions. Heavy rain developed along the boundary as it moved slowly toward the south and southwest.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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
- 1
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 afternoon sea breeze boundary, located over central sections of Oahu, created unstable conditions. Heavy rain developed along the boundary as it moved slowly toward the south and southwest. There was ponding on roadways, and small stream and drainage ditch flooding. No serious property damage or injuries 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 5, 3:32 PM HST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 5, 3:32 PM HST, 1 hour 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 332 PM HST MON MAY 5 2014 .SYNOPSIS... A SURFACE RIDGE NEAR KAUAI WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE LIGHTER THAN NORMAL WINDS THROUGH THE WORK WEEK. MOSTLY DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL...WITH SOME SHOWERS POSSIBLE MAINLY ALONG SEABREEZES ACROSS INTERIOR AND LEEWARD AREAS EACH AFTERNOON. A FRONT APPROACHING THE ALOHA STATE FROM THE NORTHWEST MAY REACH KAUAI LATE THIS WEEK...AND COULD CAUSE AN INCREASE IN SHOWERS ACROSS MUCH OF THE STATE DURING THE WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION... THERE IS LITTLE CHANGE TO THE SYNOPTIC PATTERN ACROSS THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATES A BROAD TROUGH WELL TO THE NORTHWEST OF HAWAII...WITH A RIDGE TO THE EAST/SOUTHEAST... AND WEST SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT ACROSS THE STATE. AT THE SURFACE... HIGH PRESSURE IS CENTERED FAR TO THE NORTHEAST...WITH A RIDGE AXIS EXTENDING SOUTHWESTWARD NEAR KAUAI AND OUT TOWARD THE DATE LINE. A GALE CENTER IS MOVING QUICKLY EASTWARD ALONG 31N...WITH A TRAILING FRONT CURRENTLY NEAR LAYSAN IN THE NORTHWESTERN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. AROUND THE STATE...AFTER SEVERAL QUIET HOURS DURING THE LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON...RADAR LOOPS NOW SHOW PERSISTENT SCATTERED SHOWERS ACROSS INTERIOR/LEEWARD OAHU...WITH SOME ISOLATED HEAVY DOWNPOURS ALONG THE WAIANAE RANGE...AND A FEW SHOWERS ACROSS LEEWARD MOLOKAI AND LANAI AS WELL. THE 00Z SOUNDINGS SHOW LITTLE CHANGE IN THE MOISTURE/STABILITY PROFILE DURING THE PAST 12 HOURS. MIMIC-TPW SATELLITE IMAGERY AND MODEL DATA GIVE SOME INDICATION OF A SUBTLE MOIST POCKET MOVING THROUGH THE STATE CURRENTLY...WITH A DRIER AIRMASS EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND. IN THE NEAR TERM...THE BEST RAIN CHANCES WILL CONTINUE ACROSS INTERIOR AND LEEWARD OAHU ALONG SEABREEZE CONVERGENCE ZONES DURING THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING. LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE. THIS ACTIVITY SHOULD DIMINISH BY MID EVENING. NOT MUCH CHANGE IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE NEXT FEW DAYS...WITH A DEEP LAYERED RIDGE REMAINING EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF HAWAII... WHILE THE LONGWAVE TROUGH TO OUR NORTHWEST IS REFRESHED BY ANOTHER SHORTWAVE MOVING EASTWARD ACROSS THE DATE LINE. THIS PATTERN WILL MAINTAIN A SURFACE RIDGE AXIS NEAR KAUAI...WHILE A FRONTAL ZONE REMAINS STALLED OVER THE NORTHWESTERN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. GUIDANCE INDICATES A SLIGHT FRESHENING OF THE BACKGROUND EAST/SOUTHEAST FLOW ON TUESDAY...WHICH THEN WEAKENS AGAIN WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. A MAINLY DRY LAND/SEA BREEZE PATTERN WILL CONTINUE LOCALLY...WITH THE BEST CHANCE FOR SHOWERS OCCURRING LEEWARD AND INTERIOR ALONG SEABREEZE CONVERGENCE ZONES EACH AFTERNOON. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL REMAIN MOSTLY LIGHT...BUT ISOLATED HEAVY DOWNPOURS WILL BE POSSIBLE. FROM THURSDAY INTO THE WEEKEND...THE EASTWARD PROGRESSION OF THE SHORTWAVE AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW JUST NORTH OF 30N IS FORECAST TO BRING THE TRAILING FRONT CLOSER TO KAUAI...WITH THE FRONT THEN POSSIBLY MOVING THROUGH AT LEAST KAUAI AND OAHU BY LATE THIS WEEKEND. THE GUIDANCE SUITE STILL SHOWS SOME VARIATIONS AS TO THE EXACT POSITION AND TIMING OF THIS FRONT...BUT THERE DOES APPEAR TO BE GENERAL AGREEMENT THAT THE BOUNDARY WILL BE IN THE VICINITY OF THE STATE THIS WEEKEND. THIS WOULD LIKELY BRING AN INCREASE IN SHOWER ACTIVITY. LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK... THE FRONT SHOULD EVENTUALLY DISSIPATE NEARBY...WITH HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING TO OUR NORTH AND BRINGING A RETURN TO MORE TYPICAL TRADE WIND WEATHER. && .AVIATION... LIGHT SOUTHEAST BACKGROUND FLOW WILL RESULT IN SEA BREEZES AND CLOUD BUILD UPS OVER THE ISLAND INTERIORS THROUGH THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON. CLOUD BUILD UPS AND SHOWERS WILL PRODUCE TEMPO MTN OBSC ACROSS LEEWARD PORTIONS OF EACH ISLAND. AIRMET SIERRA HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE MTN OBSC WHICH WILL LIKELY BE CANCELLED AROUND SUNSET THIS EVENING. LAND BREEZES SHOULD CLEAR OUT CLOUDS TONIGHT. && .MARINE... NDBC AND CDIP BUOYS SHOW THE NORTHWEST SWELL CONTINUING TO DECLINE IN BOTH HEIGHT AND PERIOD DURING THE DAY. THIS SWELL WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY DECREASE THROUGH TUESDAY. A NEW MODERATE NORTHWEST SWELL IS FORECAST TO ARRIVE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. SURF HEIGHTS ALONG NORTH AND WEST FACING FACING BEACHES WILL INCREASE A BIT BUT SHOULD REMAIN WELL BELOW ADVISORY LEVELS. NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT SWELLS ARE ANTICIPATED THROUGH THE REST OF THIS WEEK. GENTLE TO LOCALLY MODERATE EAST/SOUTHEAST WINDS ARE FORECAST TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE WORK WEEK...AND AS MENTIONED ABOVE NO LARGE SWELLS ARE EXPECTED...THEREFORE DO NOT ANTICIPATE ANY SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ACROSS THE HAWAIIAN COASTAL WATERS THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && DISCUSSION/MARINE...JACOBSON AVIATION...FOSTER
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
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: 512616.