High Surf, Niihau
- When
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 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 in Hawaii, February 7 to 9, 2017
A swell from a strong low far northwest of the Aloha State generated surf of 10 to 22 feet along the north- and west-facing shores of Niihau and Kauai, the north-facing shores of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui; and 8 to 15 feet along the west-facing shores of Oahu, Molokai, and the Big Island. There were no reports of significant injuries or property damage.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 strong low far northwest of the Aloha State generated surf of 10 to 22 feet along the north- and west-facing shores of Niihau and Kauai, the north-facing shores of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui; and 8 to 15 feet along the west-facing shores of Oahu, Molokai, and the Big Island. There were no reports of significant injuries or property damage.
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 7, 4:00 AM HST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 4:00 AM HST, 4 hours before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Honolulu HI 400 AM HST Tue Feb 7 2017 .SYNOPSIS... Cold front passing the Big Island early this morning will continue east, exiting the state. A cooler northerly flow over the smaller islands will spread to the Big Island later today. High pressure will pass north of the state through Thursday, with trade winds briefly return late Wednesday and Thursday. Another cold front is expected to move down the island chain late Friday through Saturday. && .DISCUSSION... The cold front has finally reached the Big Island late Monday night and will continue to advance east today. The strong winds associated with the front eased, though clouds and showers will linger over that island through early part of today. Elsewhere mainly fair weather continues as cooler and somewhat drier northwesterly winds present across the area. This northwesterly winds will reach the Big Island later today, bringing improving weather for that island. Winds remain rather strong at the summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea early this morning. A high wind warning remains in effect for those summits through Wednesday. A surface high pressure will pass north of the islands Wednesday through Thursday, with trade winds making a brief return to the area. Passing low clouds and showers will affecting windward and mountain areas. Airmass will remain stable, thus rainfall amounts will be limited. The GFS and ECMWF both continue to indicate another cold front advancing through the islands late Friday and Saturday. Southerly winds and rain chances will increase across the state ahead of the front on Friday. Another round of advisory level kona winds still looks likely, specially for the smaller islands. This next front will likely to reach the western half of the state on Friday night, and reaching the Big Island on Saturday, with winds decreasing behind the feature. && .AVIATION... A cold front moving through the Big Island this morning will produce MVFR conditions in low clouds and rain showers. Weather conditions across the Big Island will gradually improve during the day. A high pressure ridge building in across the Hawaiian Islands will create a light northerly wind regime allowing a return to a diurnal land sea breeze pattern on Wednesday for airfields on the southern sides of each island. AIRMET Sierra is in effect for tempo mountain obscurations over the Big Island. && .MARINE... A large northwest swell continues to spread down the island chain early this morning. As a result, seas are near the Small Craft Advisory (SCA) criteria across most Hawaiian waters, except the Maui County Leeward Waters, Maalaea Bay, and the Pailolo Channel. The SCA due to these elevated seas is in effect through Wednesday afternoon. Moderate to locally fresh northwest to north winds will continue today across most Hawaiian waters. Winds are forecast to weaken slightly and shift out of the north to northeast from later tonight through Wednesday, and then out of the east-southeast Thursday ahead of the next cold front approaching the region. As this next front moves closer to the islands later this week, expect similar conditions to develop once again across most Hawaiian waters from Friday into the weekend with strong southwest winds and rough seas returning. The current large northwest swell (310-320 deg) associated with a very active weather pattern across the northwest Pacific will continue to spread down the island chain this morning, then persist through mid week before trending down. This swell is forecast to be a long-duration event, with surf reaching the High Surf Warning criteria along exposed north and west facing shores later today. A High Surf Advisory also remains in effect for the west facing shores of Oahu, Molokai, and the Big Island. Note that there is a potential for excessive wave run-up around the times of high tide, which could translate to overwash onto the typical vulnerable coastal roadways tonight and Wednesday. Looking ahead into the upcoming weekend, another large west- northwest swell (300 deg) is expected to arrive Friday, with surf likely reaching the High Surf Advisory criteria along exposed north and west facing shores from Friday night through the upcoming weekend. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Surf Warning until 6 PM HST Wednesday for Niihau-Kauai Windward-Kauai Leeward-Oahu North Shore-Oahu Koolau-Molokai-Maui Windward West-Maui Central Valley-Windward Haleakala. High Surf Advisory until 6 PM HST Wednesday for Waianae Coast- Kona. High Wind Warning until 6 PM HST Wednesday for Big Island Summits. Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM 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-Alenuihaha Channel-Big Island Windward Waters-Big Island Leeward Waters-Big Island Southeast Waters. && Aviation...Bohlin Marine...Houston Public...Hui
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 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 PM HST
- Where
- Kauai Windward forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Kauai Leeward
- When
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 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
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 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
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 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
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 PM HST
- Where
- Oahu Koolau forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Molokai Windward
- When
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 PM HST
- Where
- Molokai Windward forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Molokai Leeward
- When
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 PM HST
- Where
- Molokai Leeward forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Maui Windward West
- When
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 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
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 PM HST
- Where
- Maui Central Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Windward Haleakala
- When
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 PM HST
- Where
- Windward Haleakala forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Surf, Kona
- When
- February 7, 8:00 AM HST to February 9, 2:00 PM HST
- Where
- Kona forecast zone
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- Tornadoes and Hail in Louisiana, February 7, 2017
- Damaging Winds in Florida, February 7, 2017
- Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, February 7, 2017
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Michigan, February 7 to 8, 2017
- Flooding and Heavy Snow in California, February 7 to 14, 2017
- Flooding in Utah, February 7 to 27, 2017
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Nevada, February 7 to 14, 2017
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Florida, February 7, 2017
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Georgia, February 7, 2017
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Florida, February 7, 2017
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, February 7, 2017
- Tornado and Hail in Alabama, February 7, 2017
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, February 2017
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: 674236, 674237, 674238, 674239, 674240, 674241, 674242, 674243, 674244, 674245, 674246, 674247.