Showers along a dissipating cold front spawned a funnel cloud near Kauai.
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The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
Showers along a dissipating cold front spawned a funnel cloud near Kauai.
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 28, 9:46 AM HST, 37 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Honolulu HI 946 AM HST Sat Dec 28 2024 .SYNOPSIS... A front weakening over the western end of the state coupled with an upper level trough will bring enhanced trade wind showers this weekend. A new ridge building north of the islands behind the front will bring trade winds to the region for the start of the new year. && .DISCUSSION... The dissipating frontal boundary can be seen on radar and satellite imagery this morning with bands of clouds and showers streaming into Kauai and Oahu. These bands of light to moderate showers are expected to continue to move into windward and mauka areas of Kauai and Oahu through tonight and into tomorrow as the front stalls and then further dissipates. Moderate to breezy east- northeast winds will filter in across the western end of the state as a surface ridge builds behind the frontal boundary today, with weaker easterly trades moving across the rest of the island chain. An upper level trough will continue to dip down across the state through the weekend, then potentially form a cutoff low to the southeast of the Big Island. The proximity of this feature to the island chain and the instability that it brings will likely help to enhance windward showers through the rest of the weekend and into early next week. There might be enough instability to support isolated thunderstorms with 500 mb temperatures potentially dropping to -13C to -15C, but limited/shallow moisture and weak surface forcing with the dissipating front and gradually building trades seem to be the limiting factors. This afternoon's upper air sounding on Kauai will give us a better idea of what the thunderstorm potential is like near the frontal boundary where the best moisture, surface forcing and upper level instability will likely line up. The subtropical ridge will build back over the islands from the west early next week, pushing the upper level trough east of the Big Island by Monday night, which should allow a more typical trade wind pattern to commence through the end the year and into the start of the new. Then as a series of fronts approach from the northwest, winds will once again veer east-southeast by the end of next week. The next front to make it across at least the western end of the state looks like it will arrive sometime next weekend into early next week. A hot spot over Halemaumau Crater on the Big Island continues to be seen on infrared satellite imagery. The University of Hawaii (UH) Vog Model show SO2 emissions should start to clear out of the smaller islands today as trade winds build back in at the surface. By tonight, the vog should be confined to portions of the Big Island and the waters to the southwest. && .AVIATION... Light to moderate east-southeast winds will continue over the eastern half of the state as northerly winds fill into the western half along a weak front that is currently over Kauai. This front will bring periods of showers and low clouds to Kauai and Oahu today. Expect MVFR cigs to continue across Kauai, and possibly Oahu, into this afternoon with VFR conditions elsewhere. Trade winds will strengthen tonight bringing a return to clouds and showers that are focused over windward and mauka areas. AIRMET Sierra for tempo mountain obscuration is in effect for Kauai and may be needed for portions of Oahu this afternoon. && .MARINE... A weak cold front will move through the western half of the island chain before dissipating over the central islands later today. Fresh to strong northeast to east trade winds will build in behind the front. The Small Craft Advisory is now in effect through Saturday night for a combination of hazardous wind and sea conditions. Seas exceeding 10 ft over waters exposed to the northwest swell are expected through at least this evening and possibly beyond. Increasing trade winds are expected to reach SCA level today across much of the coastal waters area, especially the typically windy channels, and continue for the next several days. The current northwest (310-340) swell peaked Friday and will gradually decline over the next 36 to 72 hours. The swell has come more in line with model guidance this morning, but current observations are running a bit below model guidance. Surf along exposed west facing shores of the Big Island remains at borderline warning levels this morning, while north and west facing shores of Kauai and Oahu and north facing shores of Maui have declined to advisory levels. Surf is expected to fall even further this evening. The next significant northwest swell is not expected until middle of next week at the earliest. Surf along south and east facing shores will remain small through the middle of next week. && .FIRE WEATHER... No critical fire weather conditions are expected for the next seven days. Expecting trade winds to become established across the islands from north to south today, with some enhanced trade wind showers. A more typical trade wind pattern is expected Monday onwards. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Surf Advisory until 6 PM HST this evening 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. High Surf Warning until 6 PM HST this evening for Kona-Kohala- Big Island South. Small Craft Advisory until 6 AM HST Sunday for Kauai Northwest Waters-Kauai Windward Waters-Kauai Leeward Waters-Kauai Channel- Oahu Windward Waters-Kaiwi Channel-Maui County Windward Waters- Alenuihaha Channel-Big Island Windward Waters-Big Island Southeast Waters. && DISCUSSION...Farris AVIATION...Ahue MARINE...TS FIRE WEATHER...Farris
The South Kauai radar (PHKI), 24 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:24 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
An employee at the NWS Data Collection Office at Lihue Airport and an observer at the FAA tower reported a funnel cloud.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, December 2024
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: 1230151.