A front moving from the west and northwest stalled over Kauai and brought flash flooding conditions. The excessive rainfall caused the Hanalei River to overflow onto Kuhio Highway near the Hanalei Bridge in the northern parts of the Garden Isle.
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The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
A front moving from the west and northwest stalled over Kauai and brought flash flooding conditions. The excessive rainfall caused the Hanalei River to overflow onto Kuhio Highway near the Hanalei Bridge in the northern parts of the Garden Isle. This closed the roadway for a time. The Wainiha River also overflowed its banks onto Kuhio Highway as well. No serious property damage or injuries were reported.
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 22, 10:05 AM HST, 1 hour 57 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Honolulu HI 1005 AM HST Tue Mar 22 2022 .SYNOPSIS... A front will stall over Kauai today and slowly dissipate over the next few days. High pressure far north of Hawaii will drive fresh to strong trade winds and will carry clouds and showers associated with the front across windward and mauka areas with the focus on Kauai. Drier trades expected this weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Infrared satellite shows a band of layered clouds across Kauai this morning due to a stationary front and upper trough. High pressure systems to far to the north and northeast of Hawaii will drive fresh to strong trade winds over the next several days, and will direct clouds and showers along the front over the islands, particularly Kauai. Frontal showers have been occasionally heavy as they are enhanced by the trough aloft. Given the expected persistence of these heavy showers today and tonight, a Flash Flood Watch has been issued for Kauai. A slight chance of thunderstorms also remains in the forecast for Kauai also through tonight. As pieces of the front upstream get caught up in the trade wind flow, showers will begin to increase for the the other islands beginning today, particularly Oahu. Showers will focus over windward slopes, but breezy winds will carry many of the showers to leeward sides of the smaller islands at times. The front will gradually weaken over or in the vicinity of the islands through Friday, with potentially slight shifts to the north or south. Overall, Kauai looks to take the brunt of the showers along the front, but the focus may shift to Oahu or missing the state to the north. The upper trough, meanwhile, will slide to the eastern end of the state by Thursday and should lessen the intensity of the showers as more stability sets up over the western end of the state. Guidance indicates the moisture axis may shift to the south Friday and Saturday, but the front will be dissipated at that point. Expect a drying trend with continuing trade winds this weekend. && .AVIATION... Multiple aviation hazards are expected over the next 24 hours, particularly across the western end of the state where a stationary front is stalled near Kauai. Latest radar and satellite imagery this morning depicts widespread low clouds and occasional heavy showers over Kauai and adjacent waters. Surface observations at Lihue have frequently reported IFR visibilities within the heaviest showers that continue to stream across the island. Isolated thunderstorms can also not be ruled out through tonight. Meanwhile, thick layered clouds between roughly 14,000 and 24,000 feet will have the potential to cause moderate icing across Kauai as well. As a result, AIRMET Sierra for IFR ceilings and visibility and AIRMET Zulu for moderate rime icing remain in effect for Kauai and will likely be needed through at least this evening. Wind speeds have also increased quite a bit across the Garden Isle, with breezy to locally windy NE trade winds overrunning the frontal boundary. Therefore, AIRMET Tango remains in effect for moderate low- level turbulence below 9,000 feet. For the rest of the state, isolated to scattered showers are observed over mainly windward areas this morning. The increase in trade winds is expected to spread from west to east across the island chain, which will likely result in AIRMET Tango being expanded to other islands later today. Meanwhile, enhanced shower activity and low clouds could also occur over windward Oahu and Molokai this afternoon resulting in an eventual AIRMET Sierra for mountain obscuration across these islands. && .MARINE... Trade winds will increase today and remain elevated through much of the week. A 1032 mb high located about 600 nm north-northwest of the state has pushed a decaying front over Kauai this morning. Fresh to strong trade winds are seen around Kauai, but the front is keeping the pressure gradient and the associated trade winds weaker around the rest of the islands this morning. Expect trade winds to pick up today as the front weakens, and thunderstorms will be possible near the front. A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) is in effect for all waters through tomorrow for a combination of winds and seas of 10 ft or more, and it will likely be extended for most waters through at least Thursday. North shore surf will remain elevated for the next couple of days. A northwest swell has peaked at Kauai at 8 to 9 ft at 14 seconds and will peak at Oahu and Maui County during the next several hours. A High Surf Advisory (HSA) remains in effect for most north and west facing shores from Kauai to Maui. As this swell declines later today and tonight, a reinforcing pulse of north swell will arrive, possibly maintaining advisory level surf for some north shores tonight and early Wednesday. Surges in Kahului and Hilo Harbors will be possible as the north swell fills in. Rises in east and south shore surf are expected in the short term. Due to strong and gusty trades along the front, wind swell has risen to 9 ft at 9 seconds at the PacIOOS Hanalei buoy, while seas are just below seasonal normal at 4 to 5 ft at 9 seconds at to the windward PacIOOS buoys across the rest of the state. Since the islands will lie on the eastern edge of the fetch of strong trades, expect only a couple of feet increase in trade wind swell over the next day or so, but we will monitor the need for a HSA for east shores of Kauai. In addition, a small south-southwest swell will arrive this afternoon and peak Wednesday into Thursday, possibly leading to south shore surf around summertime average. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch through late tonight for Kauai- High Surf Advisory until 6 PM HST this evening for north and west facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, and north facing shores of Maui. Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM HST Wednesday for all Hawaiian waters- && DISCUSSION...Foster AVIATION...Vaughan MARINE...Wroe
The South Kauai radar (PHKI), 36 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:01 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Kuhio Highway closed near the Hanalei Bridge as the Hanalei River overflowed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 2022
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: 1007191.