Heavy rainfall across south Kauai caused significant ponding on area roadways between Lawai and Poipu.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Heavy rainfall across south Kauai caused significant ponding on area roadways between Lawai and Poipu.
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 29, 9:46 AM HST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Honolulu HI 946 AM HST Wed Mar 29 2023 .SYNOPSIS... Showers and thunderstorms are likely over the western end of the state today. Heavy rainfall is possible across Niihau, Kauai, and Oahu, where a Flood Watch remains in effect through the afternoon. Thunderstorms may be particularly strong this morning. Further east, lighter showers will favor southeast- facing slopes. Thunderstorms are possible over interior Big Island slopes this afternoon and Thursday afternoon. Winds will remain southeasterly through the weekend, then return to a more easterly direction early next week. && .DISCUSSION... A surface low northwest of the islands is supported by a deep upper low that is producing a broad area of cyclonic flow aloft. A stationary front lies a couple hundred miles northwest of Kauai. Satellite loop shows deep convection and overcast layered clouds across the state, with the coldest cloud tops west of Molokai at this hour. Southeast flow near the surface contrasts with southwest to northeast flow aloft. Within southeast surface flow, a convergence band continues to trigger thunderstorms over and around Kauai and Niihau. The area of thunderstorms is drifting eastward as an upper trough passes by. Elsewhere, showers embedded with southeast flow continue to favor southeast-facing shores and slopes. Abundant moisture and instability will keep the threat of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms in the forecast for the western islands through today, with an additional threat of thunderstorms for Big Island interior areas each afternoon through tomorrow. Some thunderstorms may be particularly strong this morning. A Flood Watch remains in effect for Niihau, Kauai, and Oahu through this afternoon. Models show southeast surface flow will continue into the weekend, with locally breezy wind speeds indicated around Maui County and the Big Island and light to moderate wind speeds indicated elsewhere. Increased stability will introduce drier conditions, though lingering moisture around Kauai will contribute to increased shower coverage there. There is some uncertainty in the forecast for early next week as models show an upper low or trough approaching the islands from the northwest. This pattern, if it were to pan out, would drive an increase in shower activity during the first part of the work week. && .AVIATION... A low pressure system far northwest of the state will continue to produce unstable southerly winds over Kauai and Oahu through tonight. Bands of showers and embedded thunderstorms will continue to develop in this wet, unstable flow and move northward over Kauai and Oahu, with periods of MVFR and brief IFR conditions. Shower coverage remains significantly less across the eastern half of the state, with only brief periods of MVFR conditions in showers from Molokai to the Big Island. However, thunderstorms are possible again over the Big Island interior this afternoon, due to instability, abundant moisture and surface heating above the trade wind inversion. Overall shower activity is forecast to decrease gradually through Thursday as the aforementioned low moves away to the northwest. AIRMET Sierra remains in effect for mountain obscurations above 020 for the islands of Kauai and Oahu this morning. This AIRMET will likely continue into this evening. Tempo light rime icing will also be present in the layered higher clouds between 130-FL180. && .MARINE... Thunderstorms remain active around the Kauai waters this morning especially Kauai Leeward waters. For rest of the day today, we will continue to see scattered thunderstorms around the waters of Kauai with the main line of thunderstorms gradually shifting eastward. We should also see an increase of thunderstorms around Oahu waters, especially Oahu Windward waters. The threat for thunderstorms will begin to diminish tonight, but isolated thunderstorms will still remain possible around Kauai waters. A broad low pressure system west of the state will keep moderate to fresh southerly winds over the western islands and fresh to strong southeasterly winds over the eastern islands through tonight. Trade winds will begin to slowly build back in from east to west across the islands Thursday through the weekend, with the strongest winds holding over the eastern waters. A Small Craft Advisory is in effect for most waters surrounding the Big Island through 6 PM Thursday. No significant swells are expected through the middle of next week. A small pulse from the northwest (320 degrees) will build late this afternoon and tonight, peak Thursday and Thursday night, then slowly decline through Saturday. North shore surf will be nearly flat Sunday through the middle of next week. Fresh trades upstream of the state will continue to produce near seasonal surf along east facing shores during the next 7 days. Small background energy from the southwest, south and southeast will continue to produce small surf along south facing shores for the foreseeable future. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch through this afternoon for Niihau-Kauai Leeward- Kauai Mountains-Waianae Coast-Oahu North Shore-Olomana-Central Oahu-Waianae Mountains-Kauai North-Kauai East-Kauai South-East Honolulu-Honolulu Metro-Ewa Plain-Koolau Windward-Koolau Leeward. Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM HST Thursday for Big Island Windward Waters-Big Island Leeward Waters-Big Island Southeast Waters. && DISCUSSION...Powell AVIATION...TS MARINE...Kino
The South Kauai radar (PHKI), 9 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:36 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Emergency management reported vehicles were stranded on Lawai and Kua Roads.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 2023
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: 1084521.