High Surf in Hawaii, January 20 to 21, 2016

Name: High Surf in Hawaii, January 20 to 21, 2016
Start: 2016-01-20T11:00
End: 2016-01-21T22:00
Location: Hawaii

January 20 to 21, 2016 · NWS HFO · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

Another swell from a strong low far northwest of the islands caused surf of 15 to 30 feet along the north-facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, and Maui; 10 to 20 feet along the west-facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, and Molokai; and 6 to 10 feet along the west-facing shores of the Big Island of Hawaii. The rough surf kept lifeguards busy with rescues, other assistance such as…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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 Jan 20, 9:56 AM HST, 1 hour 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 9:56 AM HST, 1 hour 4 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
956 AM HST WED JAN 20 2016

.SYNOPSIS...
A BAND OF LOW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK FRONT
WILL PUSH SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE SMALLER ISLANDS TODAY AND TONIGHT.
A BRIEF RETURN OF THE TRADE WINDS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL FOCUS
CLOUDS AND SHOWERS OVER THE WINDWARD SLOPES. LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS
WITH DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND...AND EARLY NEXT WEEK.
VERY LARGE OCEAN WAVES WILL MAKE NORTH AND WEST FACING BEACHES EXTREMELY
DANGEROUS TODAY AND TONIGHT.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
LOW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH A DISSIPATING FRONT HAVE
REACHED OAHU THIS MORNING AND WILL CONTINUE INTO MAUI COUNTY
TODAY. THE LOW CLOUDS WILL LINGER FROM KAUAI TO MAUI THROUGH TODAY
AS THE FRONT SLOWLY DISSIPATES. LIMITED SHOWERS WILL FOCUS OVER
NORTH FACING SLOPES TODAY AS NORTH NORTHEAST WINDS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE FRONT PUSH MOISTURE INTO THE MOUNTAINS. A TRANSIENT HIGH
PRESSURE WILL TRANSVERSE FROM WEST TO EAST IN THE AREA NORTH OF
THE ISLANDS... AND WILL BRING TRADE WINDS TO THE STATE THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY WITH LIMITED WINDWARD CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. LEEWARD
LOCATIONS WILL EXPERIENCE MAINLY FINE AND PLEASANT SENSIBLE
WEATHER.

ANOTHER APPROACHING WEAK FRONT WILL PUSH THE A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE
BACK NEAR THE ISLANDS SATURDAY BRINGING LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS
OVER THE WEEKEND...AND INTO NEXT WEEK. AFTERNOON SEA BREEZES WILL
DEVELOP WITH THE ASSOCIATED LOW CLOUD BUILDUPS OVER THE MOUNTAINS...
WITH THE OPPOSING DOWNSLOPE FLOW AND CLEARING SKIES OVERNIGHT.
WINDWARD AREAS WILL EXPERIENCE WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES
UNDER THIS REGIME AS SKIES WILL REMAIN CLEARER THAN NORMAL DURING
THE PEAK HEATING TIMES. NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES WILL DROP BELOW
NORMAL AS THE DOWNSLOPE FLOW BRINGS COOLER AIR FROM HIGHER
ELEVATIONS TO SEA LEVEL.

&&

.AVIATION...
A WEAK FRONT ACROSS THE WESTERN END OF THE STATE WILL BRING CLOUDS
AND FEW SHOWERS ACROSS KAUAI THROUGH MAUI COUNTY. TEMPO MVFR CIGS
AND MTN OBSC WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR PORTIONS OF THESE ISLANDS THROUGH
EARLY AFTERNOON...BUT OTHERWISE VFR WILL PREVAIL OVER THE ISLANDS
TODAY. THE FRONT WILL LIKELY DISSIPATE TONIGHT OVER MAUI COUNTY.

&&

.MARINE...
A VERY LARGE NORTH-NORTHWEST SWELL WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD ACROSS
HAWAIIAN WATERS THIS MORNING. THE HANALEI BUOY IS PEAKING NEAR 17
FEET 18 SECONDS AS OF 8AM... WHILE THE WAIMEA BUOY CONTINUES TO
RISE WITH AN 8AM READING OF 12 FEET 18 SECONDS. A SMALL CRAFT
ADVISORY /SCA/ IS POSTED FOR WATERS EXPOSED TO THE SWELL. THIS SWELL
WILL WARNING LEVEL SURF TO MOST NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF
THE SMALLER ISLANDS TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME OF THIS SWELL ENERGY
WILL ALSO IMPACT THE NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG
ISLAND...SO A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THOSE SHORES. THE
SWELL WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT...AND THEN GRADUALLY DROP
THURSDAY AND INTO THE WEEKEND.

ANOTHER VERY LARGE SWELL IS EXPECTED SUNDAY MORNING FROM THE WEST
NORTHWEST. SEAS WILL INCREASE WELL OVER 10 FEET AND BRING WARNING
LEVEL SURF.

ELSEWHERE...SMALL SOUTH SWELLS WILL CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF WARNING UNTIL 6 AM HST THURSDAY FOR NIIHAU-KAUAI
WINDWARD-KAUAI LEEWARD-WAIANAE COAST-OAHU NORTH SHORE-OAHU
KOOLAU-MOLOKAI-MAUI WINDWARD WEST-MAUI CENTRAL VALLEY-WINDWARD
HALEAKALA.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST THURSDAY FOR KONA-BIG ISLAND
NORTH AND EAST-KOHALA.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM HST THURSDAY 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-ALENUIHAHA
CHANNEL-BIG ISLAND WINDWARD WATERS.

&&

MORRISON...DISCUSSION AND MARINE
FOSTER...AVIATION

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Niihau

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM 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, Kauai Windward

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM HST
Where: Kauai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Kauai Leeward

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM 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, Waianae Coast

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM HST
Where: Waianae Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Oahu North Shore

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM 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: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM HST
Where: Oahu Koolau forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Molokai Windward

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM HST
Where: Molokai Windward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Molokai Leeward

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM HST
Where: Molokai Leeward forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Maui Windward West

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM 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: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM HST
Where: Maui Central Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Windward Haleakala

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM HST
Where: Windward Haleakala forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

High Surf, Kona

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM HST
Where: Kona forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kohala

When: January 20, 11:00 AM HST to January 21, 10:00 PM HST
Where: Kohala forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (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

Every storm in Hawaii in 2016 Every state in 2016 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, January 2016

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: 610158, 610159, 610160, 610161, 610162, 610163, 610164, 610165, 610166, 610167, 610168, 610169, 610170.