Hawaii, 2024

High Surf in Hawaii, January 17 to 18, 2024

January 17 to 18, 2024 · NWS HFO · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

A large west-northwest swell brought waves of twenty five to thirty five feet to north facing shores and eighteen to twenty two feet to west facing shores. The high surf made ocean and coastal areas hazardous.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
12

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.

A large west-northwest swell brought waves of twenty five to thirty five feet to north facing shores and eighteen to twenty two feet to west facing shores. The high surf made ocean and coastal areas hazardous.

What forecasters said that day

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 Jan 16, 1:18 PM HST, 10 hours 42 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 16, 1:18 PM HST, 10 hours 42 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Molokai North

When
January 17, 12:00 AM HST to January 18, 12:00 AM HST
Where
Molokai North forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Niihau

When
January 17, 7:14 PM HST to January 18, 8:50 AM HST
Where
Niihau forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kauai North

When
January 17, 7:40 PM HST to January 18, 8:50 AM HST
Where
Kauai North forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
22.011, -159.705 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Oahu North Shore

When
January 17, 7:40 PM HST to January 18, 8:50 AM HST
Where
Oahu North Shore forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Waianae Coast

When
January 17, 7:40 PM HST to January 18, 8:50 AM HST
Where
Waianae Coast forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
21.455, -157.961 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Molokai Windward

When
January 17, 7:40 PM HST to January 18, 8:50 AM HST
Where
Molokai Windward forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Maui Windward West

When
January 17, 7:40 PM HST to January 18, 8:50 AM HST
Where
Maui Windward West forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Maui Central Valley North

When
January 17, 7:40 PM HST to January 18, 8:50 AM HST
Where
Maui Central Valley North forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Windward Haleakala

When
January 17, 7:40 PM HST to January 18, 8:50 AM HST
Where
Windward Haleakala forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kohala

When
January 17, 7:40 PM HST to January 18, 3:50 PM HST
Where
Kohala forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Kona

When
January 17, 7:40 PM HST to January 18, 3:50 PM HST
Where
Kona forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Surf, Molokai West

When
January 17, 7:50 PM HST to January 18, 8:50 AM HST
Where
Molokai West forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Surf
Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 2024

Sources

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: 1152785, 1152779, 1152781, 1152782, 1152783, 1152786, 1152788, 1152789, 1152790, 1152791, 1152792, 1152787.