An upper level trough and remnants of an old front brought active weather to the Big Island, with strong winds and a mix of winter weather restricting access to the Big Island summits.
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The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
An upper level trough and remnants of an old front brought active weather to the Big Island, with strong winds and a mix of winter weather restricting access to the Big Island summits.
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 Mar 7, 12:05 PM HST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...Update National Weather Service Honolulu HI 1205 PM HST Tue Mar 7 2017 .UPDATE... An update has been sent to fine tune the afternoon forecast, to issue a High Surf Advisory for most north and west facing shores of the smaller islands, and to issue a wind advisory for the Big Island Summits. && .SYNOPSIS... Periods of unsettled weather are in store through at least Thursday. A strong upper level trough passing over the region will create the potential for heavy showers and strong thunderstorms late tonight into Thursday, especially along a stalled band of low level moisture currently stretched over and near Maui. A weak ridge will settle near the state on Friday, bringing light winds and humid conditions for the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... A complex pattern is in place this morning, with heavy showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms favoring the eastern half of the island chain during the afternoon. A band of low level moisture and convergence, the remnant of an old front, is stalled over Maui County and northern Big Island, where precipitable water (PW) values are hovering around 1.3 to 1.6 inches. Meanwhile, a strong mid to upper level trough centered about 400 miles northwest of Kauai is digging toward the state. This feature is already producing enough instability to trigger isolated heavy showers and thunderstorms along the low level moisture band. The mid to upper level trough is also driving a weak surface cold front that is being obscured by a band of layered high clouds about 50 miles northwest of Kauai. Sandwiched between these features, a rather dry, northerly low level flow with dew points around 60 deg F is barely hanging on over Oahu and Kauai. While heavy showers and thunderstorms could flare anywhere this afternoon, chances are highest over the stalled band of low level moisture over Maui County and northern Big Island. As the mid to upper level trough edges closer to the islands, heights and temps aloft will fall, further destabilizing the atmosphere. Daytime heating could produce isolated heavy showers or a thunderstorm on Kauai and Oahu, but instability and resultant thunderstorm potential will be greatest along the band of low level moisture stretching across Maui County and the Big Island. Coverage should be spotty and focused over the terrain, and with bulk shear increasing, we cannot rule out a briefly strong thunderstorm. The atmosphere will become increasingly unstable tonight and Wednesday, upping chances for heavy showers and possibly strong thunderstorms into Thursday. Although the details remain elusive, the GFS and ECMWF models are both showing a roughly 100 kt jet stream setting up over the islands late tonight and Wednesday as the upper level trough digs over the region. Temps at 500 mb will fall to the -13 to -16 C range, which is very cold by Hawaii standards. As a result, CAPE values increase, especially along the stalled low level moisture boundary, while 0-6 km bulk shear values remain elevated at 35 kt or more. This instability will set the stage for strong to possibly severe thunderstorms. The greatest threat will remain along the low level moisture boundary over the central islands, though we will have to monitor the dissipating front moving over Kauai and Oahu tonight and Wednesday. By late Wednesday, the GFS and ECMWF also show deeper moisture surging northward over the state, raising the threat for flash flooding. Both the thunderstorm and flood threat will be further assessed today. The flood and thunderstorm threat will diminish on Friday as the upper level trough weakens and pushes eastward. A weak low level ridge will build just north of the state, ushering in weak trades. The ridge will shift over the islands during the weekend, promoting light winds and humid conditions. && .MARINE... The west-northwest swell (290-320 deg) currently impacting the islands will gradually ease through early Wednesday. Surf heights along exposed coasts may remain near advisory levels early this morning, but should steadily trend down through the rest of the day. This downward trend is also reflected at the offshore buoys northwest of Kauai. The latest surface analysis and satellite imagery showed a storm- force low centered around 1300 nautical miles northwest of the state tracking back toward the south-southeast due to the blocking pattern over the northern Pacific. An earlier ASCAT pass this morning showed a large area of gales out of the northwest associated with this feature focused toward the local area. This will result in a large reinforcing swell out of a more northwest direction (330 deg) with expected impact to the Hawaiian waters Wednesday through early Friday before gradually trending down into the weekend. The ECMWF-Wave solution is depicts a slightly earlier arrival time across the local waters and a peak up to a couple of feet larger than the WAVEWATCH III. If this larger solution verifies, surf may near warning levels late Wednesday through Wednesday night. Impacts associated with this source will include small craft advisory seas and dangerous surf along exposed north and west facing waters/shores Wednesday through as late as Thursday night. Local winds will remain light through the week as another front approaches and moves into the area through mid-week. Periods of heavy showers and a few thunderstorms will remain in the forecast due to a combination of this front and a disturbance aloft setting up over the region. && .AVIATION... Moisture from a remnant frontal boundary between the Big Island and Maui will be the focus of showers this afternoon. At this time, this is highlighted with VCSH for the nearby terminals at Kona and Kahului. Thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon for these locations and will be monitoring radar trends closely for the possible addition of tempo groups to highlight heavier showers and thunderstorms for these terminals. Otherwise, the next frontal boundary will move eastward across Kauai this afternoon into the evening and eastward to Oahu and Maui overnight. This will allow for an increased chance of showers with thunderstorms with gusty winds and MVFR conditions possible as the boundary moves through. An AIRMET for mountain obscuration remains in effect for windward sections of Maui. Improving conditions will likely deteriorate once again later this afternoon, with mountain obscurations redeveloping. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Surf Advisory from 10 AM Wednesday to 6 PM HST Thursday for Niihau-Kauai Windward-Kauai Leeward-Waianae Coast-Oahu North Shore- Oahu Koolau-Molokai-Maui Windward West-Maui Central Valley-Windward Haleakala. Wind Advisory until 6 PM HST Wednesday for Big Island Summits. && Public...Wroe Marine...TS Aviation...Woodrum
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The winds first reached High Wind Warning threshold at 130 PM on the 7th, and continued to reach Warning levels through 430 PM on the 9th. The peak measured wind gust was 69 mph at 730 PM HST on the 7th.
Rangers on Mauna Kea reported ice, freezing rain, snow, and hail, sticking to the roadway and leading to poor traction. The summit road was closed to visitors from 730 PM HST on the 8th through 5 AM HST on the 10th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 2017
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: 690697, 690701.