High Surf, Niihau
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 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, February 2 to 4, 2015
A swell from a low north of the Aloha State caused surf of 10 to 15 feet along the north-facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and the Big Island of Hawaii. No significant property damage or injuries were reported.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 12
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 swell from a low north of the Aloha State caused surf of 10 to 15 feet along the north-facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and the Big Island of Hawaii. No significant 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 Feb 2, 3:58 AM HST, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 3:58 AM HST, 4 hours 2 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 358 AM HST MON FEB 2 2015 .SYNOPSIS... THE PREVAILING LIGHT WINDS WILL GRADUALLY TURN TO THE SOUTHWEST TODAY AS A FRONT APPROACHES KAUAI FROM THE NORTHWEST. THIS FRONT WILL MOVE DOWN THE ISLAND CHAIN TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...BRINGING INCREASING SHOWERS AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS. ANOTHER FRONT WILL REACH THE AREA LATER IN THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... WINDY CONDITIONS ARE ANTICIPATED ACROSS THE ALOHA STATE DURING MUCH OF THE WORK WEEK...STARTING THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT PORTIONS OF OAHU ON TUE. AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT BOUNDARY WILL BRING VEERING WINDS TO THE SW...WHICH WILL INTENSIFY LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WIND GUSTS WILL BE PARTICULARLY STRONG ON TUE OVER KAUAI COUNTY AND OAHU. ONE OF THE MAIN CONCERNS WITH THESE EVENTS IS THE ENHANCED POTENTIAL FOR EPISODES OF DOWNSLOPE GUSTY WINDS...MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR ON TUE AND TUE NIGHT OVER NE AND E PORTIONS OF OAHU...INCLUDING THE WAIANAE MOUNTAINS...AND THE CENTRAL VALLEY AREAS OF OAHU AND MAUI. THE FROPA WILL ALSO BRING INCREASING SHOWER ACTIVITY AS IT PUSHES DOWN THE ISLAND CHAIN FROM LATER TODAY THROUGH TUE...AND WITH POSSIBLE LOCALIZED HEAVY RAIN. THE FRONT SHOULD SLOW DOWN AND BECOME STATIONARY NEAR MAUI COUNTY...THEN MODEL GUIDANCE SHOW ANOTHER FRONT MOVING ACROSS THE ISLAND CHAIN TUE NIGHT AND WED. THIS SECOND FRONT WILL PUSH THE PREVIOUS STALLED BOUNDARY DOWN INTO THE BIG ISLAND. THE GLOBAL MODELS DEPICT MAINLY ZONAL FLOW DOMINATING THE UPPER LEVELS DURING MOST OF THE WORK WEEK. THEN AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL MOVE TOWARDS THE ISLANDS ON FRI AND PUSHING YET ANOTHER COLD FRONT BOUNDARY DOWN THE ISLAND CHAIN. MEANWHILE...A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE SUMMITS OF THE BIG ISLAND AS WINDS AT SUMMIT LEVEL WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN. IT IS LIKELY THAT THIS ADVISORY WILL BE UPGRADED TO A WARNING LATER IN THE WEEK. SOME OF THE INTERIOR PORTIONS OF THE BIG ISLAND ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO EXPERIENCE WINDY CONDITIONS THIS WEEK. A SURFACE RIDGE WILL MOVE OVER THE ISLANDS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY... BRINGING A BRIEF RETURN OF LIGHTER WINDS AND DRIER CONDITIONS. THE GLOBAL MODELS SUGGEST ANOTHER FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE NW EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION... CAN/T RULE OUT SOME BRIEF MVFR CIGS AT PHLI TODAY...BUT OVERALL VFR CONDITIONS SHOULD BE THE RULE AT ALL TERMINALS THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING. WINDS WILL INCREASE AND BECOME GUSTY OUT OF THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST THROUGH TONIGHT...AS A STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES THE ISLANDS FROM THE WEST. LATER THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...THE INCREASING SOUTH-SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL LIKELY SPREAD SOME MVFR CIGS AND SCATTERED SHRA INTO THE KAUAI AND OAHU TERMINALS. BROKEN MID AND HIGH CLOUD HAS OVERSPREAD KAUAI AND IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER OAHU DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS. GIVEN TEMPERATURES IN THE CLOUD LAYER BETWEEN 0 AND -10C...THERE WILL LIKELY BE SOME LIGHT AIRCRAFT ICING BETWEEN 150 AND FL200 THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY. IF CONDITIONS DETERIORATE FURTHER...AN AIRMET MAY BECOME NECESSARY LATER TODAY. WITH THE INCREASE IN WINDS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...AN AIRMET MAY BECOME NECESSARY FOR MODERATE LOW LEVEL TURBULENCE DOWNSTREAM OF THE MOUNTAINS...WHICH IN THIS CASE WILL BE NORTH THROUGH EAST OF THE ISLANDS. && .MARINE... SEVERAL SMALL TO MODERATE NORTHWEST AND NORTH-NORTHWEST SWELLS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT BEFORE A LARGE NORTHWEST SWELL ARRIVES ON THURSDAY. THIS SWELL IS EXPECTED TO BRING ADVISORY LEVEL SURF OVER NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...AND MAY REACH WARNING LEVELS NEXT WEEKEND. A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY /SCA/ IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF THE COASTAL WATERS DUE TO THE DEVELOPING STRONG WINDS...WHICH MAY CONTINUE INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE WORK WEEK. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR KAUAI WINDWARD-KAUAI MOUNTAINS-OAHU KOOLAU-OLOMANA-CENTRAL OAHU- WAIANAE MOUNTAINS-MOLOKAI WINDWARD-LANAI-MAUI WINDWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-HALEAKALA SUMMIT. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR BIG ISLAND SUMMITS. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR KAUAI NORTHWEST WATERS-KAUAI WINDWARD WATERS-KAUAI LEEWARD WATERS-KAUAI CHANNEL-OAHU WINDWARD WATERS-OAHU LEEWARD WATERS- KAIWI CHANNEL-MAUI COUNTY WINDWARD WATERS-MAUI COUNTY LEEWARD WATERS-MAALAEA BAY-PAILOLO CHANNEL-ALENUIHAHA CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND WINDWARD WATERS. && DISCUSSION/MARINE...REYNES AVIATION...JELSEMA
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
12 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
High Surf, Kauai Windward
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Kauai Windward forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Kauai Leeward
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 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)
High Surf, Oahu North Shore
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM 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
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Oahu Koolau forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Olomana
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Olomana forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Surf, Molokai Windward
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Molokai Windward forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Molokai Leeward
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Molokai Leeward forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Maui Windward West
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM 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
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Maui Central Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Windward Haleakala
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Windward Haleakala forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Big Island North and East
- When
- February 2, 8:00 AM HST to February 4, 8:00 AM HST
- Where
- Big Island North and East 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
- Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, February 2, 2015
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Massachusetts, February 2, 2015
- Cold in South Dakota, February 2, 2015
- Winter Storm in Vermont, February 2, 2015
- Strong Wind in New Jersey, February 2, 2015
- Damaging Winds in Virginia, February 2, 2015
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, February 2 to 4, 2015
- Heavy Snow in Maine, February 2 to 3, 2015
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, February 2, 2015
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, February 2, 2015
- Strong Wind in South Carolina, February 2, 2015
- Strong Wind in Virginia, February 2, 2015
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, February 2015
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: 555326, 555327, 555328, 555329, 555330, 555331, 555332, 555333, 555334, 555335, 555336, 555337.