Below average rainfall led to new severe drought conditions over the south and western areas of Maui.
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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.
Below average rainfall led to new severe drought conditions over the south and western areas of Maui.
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 Feb 28, 9:00 PM HST, 3 hours earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Honolulu HI 900 PM HST Fri Feb 28 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Generally light southerly winds will persist across the western half of the state while southeasterlies occur across the eastern half of the island chain. The best chances for showers will focus over leeward areas and at higher elevation within this dry and stable atmosphere. Trade winds will return early next week and produce a more wet pattern. There will be a higher frequency for showers to pass over more windward-facing exposures. && .DISCUSSION... A warm front north of the islands will continue to lift north of the far offshore waters as another front quickly fills in its wake. This slowing front will encounter mid to upper ridging that is centered across and to the east of the islands. The position of the surface ridge will promote a persistent gentle southerly wind pattern over western islands and southeasterly breezes across the eastern half of the state. Today's satellite imagery has displayed scattered low top cumulus moving into the leeward communities of Kauai and Oahu. Within this light wind regime, localized sea breezes produced thicker clouds upslope along both Maui County and Big Island's windward-facing mauka. Radar still depicting very light and isolated north-moving streamer showers within this southerly steering flow passing across many island leeward areas this evening. With little change in the Central Pacific synoptic picture, dry weather will continue through the weekend. The western half of the state will experience more cloud cover and shower activity over leeward areas within this southern flow regime. Carbon copy type scenario this weekend as southeasterly flow will allow more cloud build up and frequent showers favoring southeast-facing coasts and mauka slopes of Maui County and Big Island. Surface ridge axis southwest of high pressure centered far northeast of the area will remain draped over the islands this weekend as mid to upper level ridging builds in overhead. Warm and muggy conditions will hang on for another day or so as this gentle southerly flow maintains elevated afternoon mid to upper 60 dew points. While this weak front passes north of the state and becomes parallel to the westerly flow, providing minor fluctuation in overall wind behavior, a general southern wind pattern will remain in place through Sunday. Rainfall accumulation will be very minimal through the weekend as mid-level ridging provides subsidence, in tandem with a relatively dry air mass, to keep the lid on any significant shower activity. A new front approaching from the northwest early next week will likely become parallel to the upper level westerlies and dissipate just before it reaches the state. Strong ridging at all levels will expand in north of the state. A large surface high moving to the east north of the chain will be the impetus of returning breezy to locally windy (at elevation) trade winds from Monday through the remainder of next week. Overall, rainfall accumulations will be minimal the next several days due to a combination of subsidence from mid-level ridging building in from the west and drier air filtering across the area helping to put a damper on shower activity. Ribbons of higher moisture being advected in on well-established trades, along with a touch more instability in response to lowering heights/cooler temperatures aloft from a trough passing far north of Hawaii, increase the probabilities of a more wet trade wind pattern late next week. GOES GeoColor daytime imagery, surface and air quality observations show vog continuing to impact the majority of the state from Big Island to Oahu. SO2 emissions from areas of Kilauea's Halema'uma'u crater are being caught up and transported within the south southeast lower level winds. The most recent eruption did pause Thursday morning and this will likely lead to a reduction in overall emissions and subsequent vog coverage the next few days. As trades build back in early next week, any lingering upstream vog will be carried westward across the islands. Vog concentrations will likely thin out as strengthening trades better mix out haze through a deeper boundary layer. && .AVIATION... A weak surface ridge over the state will produce light to moderate southerly winds across the western islands and southeasterly winds across the eastern islands through Saturday. Moderate easterly trade winds fill in by Sunday. VFR conditions will prevail in a stable weather pattern with limited shower activity. No AIRMETs in effect. && .MARINE... A ridge of high pressure over the islands tonight and Saturday, will slowly lift northward and weaken Saturday night and Sunday as a front front approaches from the west. Light to moderate southerly winds will prevail over the western islands through Saturday, while moderate east-southeasterly winds hold over the eastern end of the state. The front will stall out and weaken into a trough west of the islands Sunday and Sunday night, allowing trade winds to gradually fill in and strengthen. A new high building north of the state early next week, will bring strong trade winds back to the island chain which will continue through late next week. A Small Craft Advisory will likely be needed for winds across a large portion of the marine area much of next week. The current extra-large northwest swell has begun to decline at the NOAA buoys 51001 and 51101 northwest of Hawaii. The swell will begin to decline locally here later tonight and will continue to decline through the remainder of the weekend. A High Surf Warning remains in effect for north and west facing shores of most of the smaller islands through 6 AM Saturday. A Small Craft Advisory is also in effect due to elevated seas for most marine zones though 6 AM Saturday. A High Surf Advisory remains in effect for west facing shores of the Big Island through 6 AM Saturday. Advisory level surf will likely linger across north and west facing shores of the smaller islands through Saturday, so the High Surf Warning will likely be replaced by a High Surf Advisory with the morning forecast package. The High Surf Advisory for west facing shores of the Big Island will likely be extended through the day Saturday with the morning forecast package as well. A new moderate to large northwest swell is due in early next week, which could bring another round of advisory level surf to most north and west facing shores late Monday through Tuesday. This swell will then gradually lower through Thursday with a new large northwest swell possibly bringing another round of advisory level surf to north and west facing shores late next week. Surf along south facing shores will remain very small and dominated by background energy through late next week. Surf along east facing shores will remain very small through the weekend. East shore surf will begin to rise with the returning trades Sunday night and Monday, with surf rising to above normal levels Tuesday through late next week. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Surf Warning until 6 AM HST Saturday 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 Advisory until 6 AM HST Saturday for Kona-Kohala. Small Craft Advisory until 6 AM HST Saturday for Kauai Northwest Waters-Kauai Windward Waters-Kauai Leeward Waters-Kauai Channel- Oahu Windward Waters-Oahu Leeward Waters-Kaiwi Channel-Maui County Windward Waters-Alenuihaha Channel-Big Island Windward Waters. && DISCUSSION...Blood AVIATION...Bohlin MARINE...Jelsema
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Record low streamflow levels in West Maui resulted in a reduction in potable water production from public and private providers.
Record low streamflow levels in West Maui resulted in a reduction in potable water production from public and private providers.
Ranchers operating in the Kaupo region of Maui reported poor pasture conditions.|Some of them are also supplementing feed and hauling water for their cattle.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, March 2025
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: 1241006, 1241007, 1241009.