Tornadoes in Hawaii
41 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 0.5 a year, 48th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 0 people and injured 6. None was rated F4 or above.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The strongest
- F2, Hawaii County, HawaiiJanuary 28, 1971
- F2, Honolulu County, HawaiiMarch 18, 1982
- F2, Honolulu County, HawaiiFebruary 11, 1982
- F2, Honolulu County, HawaiiFebruary 11, 1982
- F1, Kauai County, HawaiiDecember 17, 1967
- F1, Honolulu County, HawaiiJanuary 21, 1957
- F1, Honolulu County, HawaiiJanuary 28, 1971
- F1, Hawaii County, HawaiiMarch 20, 1980
- F1, Honolulu County, HawaiiJune 15, 1971
- F1, Honolulu County, HawaiiMarch 26, 1988
- F1, Hawaii County, HawaiiMarch 25, 1988
- F1, Honolulu County, HawaiiMarch 28, 1963
The longest paths
- F0, Kauai County, HawaiiJanuary 9, 2005
- F0, Hawaii County, HawaiiFebruary 28, 2004
- F0, Kauai County, HawaiiDecember 18, 1971
- F1, Kauai County, HawaiiDecember 17, 1967
- F1, Honolulu County, HawaiiJanuary 21, 1957
- F1, Honolulu County, HawaiiJanuary 28, 1971
- F0, HawaiiNovember 26, 1975
- EF0, Honolulu County, HawaiiMarch 9, 2012
- EF0, Honolulu County, HawaiiApril 23, 2015
- F0, Maui County, HawaiiMarch 25, 2006
- F0, Maui County, HawaiiMarch 23, 2006
- F0, Honolulu County, HawaiiFebruary 7, 2004
The costliest
The biggest days in Hawaii
Every year
Every county in Hawaii
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 41. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
| County | Tornadoes | Deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Honolulu County | 20 | |
| Hawaii County | 8 | |
| Kauai County | 6 | |
| Maui County | 5 |
Nearby
Warnings in force in HawaiiForecast for your townThe live radar over Hawaii
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.