Periods of heavy rainfall due to a cold front led to flooding over portions of the State.
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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.
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
Periods of heavy rainfall due to a cold front led to flooding over portions of the State.
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 Dec 13, 9:38 AM HST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Honolulu HI 938 AM HST Wed Dec 13 2023 .SYNOPSIS... A cold front near the Kauai Channel will push southeast through the remainder of the state late today through early Thursday. Rather wet conditions can be expected along and immediately behind the front as it moves through, particularly along windward slopes and coasts. Behind the front, windier, drier, and cooler conditions will overspread the islands. Winds will then gradually diminish into the weekend, but remain locally breezy. Increasing moisture this weekend will increase trade wind showers into early next week. && .DISCUSSION... A surface cold front is located across the Kauai Channel this morning, with a strong 1035mb high surface high building over 1200 miles northwest of Kauai. Behind the front, breezy to strong trade winds are observed across Kauai, while much weaker winds are prevailing for the remaining islands. Latest radar and satellite imagery shows that a band of numerous showers associated with the front is moving over the western end of the state this morning. Rainfall totals have largely been below 1 inch since 2am, though the Kilohana, Mount Waialeale, and N Wailua Ditch gauges on Kauai have received larger amounts. The front will remain in the Kauai Channel through much of the day with enhanced shower chances affecting mainly windward and mountain sections of Kauai and Oahu, though some showers will spill over into leeward areas as well. A shortwave trough aloft, along with the building robust high to the northwest, will then drive the front (and the associated band of low clouds and showers) southeastward through the remainder of the island chain late today and tonight. Model guidance suggests that the front will push south of the Big Island Thursday morning. Behind the front, windy to very windy northeasterly trades will fill in over the islands from west to east. As a surface low far north of the state swings slightly southward before moving farther away, the pressure gradient over the islands may briefly tighten again this evening into tonight, resulting in another brief increase in wind speeds over the western end of the state. Wind advisories have been issued to account for the windy to very windy trades. The strongest winds are expected where they are best funneled through the island terrain and in channels. Locally strong winds will continue through Thursday as the strong high north of the islands settles southward closer to the state, shifting wind direction east-northeasterly. Speeds will gradually decrease from Friday into the weekend, but remain locally breezy through at least Saturday as the high north of the state weakens. A cooler and much drier airmass will settle over the state behind the front, with dewpoints dropping into the 50s for Thursday and Friday and high temperatures struggling to reach 80 degrees. The airmass will moisten up some over the weekend into early next week, bringing an increase in trade wind showers. The high north of the islands is forecast to strengthen again early next week, bringing a boost in the trade winds to breezy and locally windy levels. && .AVIATION... A cold front near Kauai, marked by a 150 nm wide band of broken to overcast showery low clouds, will gradually move S down the island chain into Thursday. The front will bring widespread clouds and showers, some briefly heavy, with greatest coverage over windward slopes. Periods of MVFR VIS/CIG in SHRA are leading to mountain obscuration, and the issuance of AIRMET Sierra. Brief periods of IFR are also likely in the heavier showers, with VIS at PHLI recently as low as 2 nm. Kauai and Oahu will be the primary recipients of the frontal showers today, and will then trend drier overnight as the boundary moves over Maui County, and eventually to the Big Island on Thursday. Strengthening NE trade winds have led to low-level turbulence to the lee of the islands, and AIRMET Tango is posted. && .MARINE... Strong building high pressure far northwest of the state will push a cold front located near Kauai southeast across a portion of the island chain this week. Increasing strong to locally gale force winds will fill in behind the front, along with increasing seas and swells generated from the front's parent low. The cold front will bring a period of showers as it continues to move through Oahu today, Maui County tonight and the Big Island on Thursday, with the strongest winds immediately following its passage. Frequent gusts to gales are expected over waters west of Kauai through tonight, and a Gale Warning is in effect. As the front continues to move southeast, a Gale Warning has been posted for select waters around Maui County and the Big Island starting this evening through Thursday. Also, the increasing seas and swells have prompted the issuance of a Small Craft Advisory (SCA) for all other waters, as well as a High Surf Advisory (HSA) for most north and west facing shores. Large mixed seas associated with the front has begun to fill in across Kauai and Oahu that will continue to build and fill in across the eastern waters tonight. These headlines will likely be required into the weekend, although surf along west facing shores will likely drop below HSA- level heights by Thursday. Into the weekend, the high will pass north of the islands as the near- gale winds are expected to veer to the east and potentially ease slightly. A long-period northwest swell has begun to fill in with long period forerunners impacting the nearshore PacIOOS Buoys, producing high surf along exposed north and west facing shores through today. Mixed swell with increasing shorter- period north to northeast wind waves, will lead to choppy surf along most windward shores. East facing shores look to stay just below HSA criteria due to the predominant northerly direction, although northerly exposed shorelines may still see some wrap. The northwest swell will become increasingly northerly this evening, with another pulse of mixed- period north to northeast swell arriving Thursday night and Friday leading to another round of high surf along north facing shores. This swell will gradually lower over the weekend. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Surf Advisory until 6 AM HST Thursday for Niihau-Kauai Leeward-Waianae Coast-Oahu North Shore-Maui Windward West-Kauai North-Molokai Windward-Molokai North-Molokai West-Maui Central Valley North-Windward Haleakala. Wind Advisory until 6 AM HST Thursday for Niihau-Kauai- Wind Advisory until 6 AM HST Thursday for Oahu- Wind Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 6 AM HST Thursday for Lanai Mauka-Kahoolawe-Maui Windward West-Maui Leeward West- Molokai-Lanai Windward-Lanai Leeward-Lanai South-Maui Central Valley North-Maui Central Valley South-Windward Haleakala- Kipahulu-South Maui/Upcountry-South Haleakala. Gale Warning until 6 AM HST Thursday for Kauai Northwest Waters- Kauai Leeward Waters. Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM HST Friday for Kauai Windward Waters-Kauai Channel-Oahu Windward Waters-Oahu Leeward Waters- Kaiwi Channel-Maui County Windward Waters-Big Island Windward Waters-Big Island Southeast Waters. Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM HST this evening for Maui County Leeward Waters-Maalaea Bay-Pailolo Channel-Alenuihaha Channel- Big Island Leeward Waters. Gale Warning from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM HST Thursday for Maui County Leeward Waters-Maalaea Bay-Pailolo Channel- Alenuihaha Channel-Big Island Leeward Waters. && DISCUSSION...Vaughan AVIATION...Birchard MARINE...JVC
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Kuhio highway was closed at Hanalei bridge due to water over the road.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
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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: 1147027.