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Hawaii County, Hawaii severe weather history spans 957 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is heavy rain, accounting for 67.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #164 nationally and #1 in Hawaii.
957
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$97.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Hawaii County, Hawaii severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hawaii County, Hawaii severe weather history averages 13.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 445 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 9 events fall before 1990 and 948 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Hawaii County, Hawaii record is flash flood, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $90.2M in reported property damage. In total, 11 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Hawaii County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain | 648 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 2002–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 137 | 5 | $90.2M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Flood | 89 | 0 | $5.0M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Wildfire | 25 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2003 |
| Hail | 11 | 0 | $0 | 1 | 1997–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Lightning | 10 | 0 | $28K | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $2.5M | F1 | 1955–2004 |
| Waterspout | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2001 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 6 | 1 | $5K | 78 | 1999–2018 |
| Debris Flow | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2020–2023 |
Decade by decade
Hawaii County, Hawaii severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
5 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 5 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-01-28 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-03-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-03-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-02-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-04-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hawaii County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2011 | Flash Flood | PAPAIKOU | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Feb 19, 2018 | Flash Flood | HONOKAA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Feb 19, 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | HOLUALOA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 22, 2017 | Flash Flood | HONOKAA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 15, 2015 | Flash Flood | HILO | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 20, 2012 | Flash Flood | PAPAALOA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jan 28, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $2.5M | |
| Nov 4, 2018 | Flash Flood | KAMUELA | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Flooding rain damaged a store in the Hamakua District on the Big Island of Hawaii, in the town of Honokaa. Also, a man died in leeward Big Island in the later evening on the 18th. His was staying in a shack-like structure on a coffee farm in Holualoa when, apparently, strong and gusty winds from a thunderstorm blew the structure about 150 feet from its foundation; and he was killed.
A woman attempted to cross fast-moving water that was knee-deep in a private driveway off Kahana Drive in Ahumoa near Honokaa on the Big Island of Hawaii. She was swept away and was found dead the next morning, Jan. 22.
Fire/rescue crews responded to a 5:50 p.m. alarm Monday (Sept 14) to Wailuku River Boiling Pots State Park for a missing swimmer.|A witness said he was swimming in the upper pond at Boiling Pots with a 62-year-old woman when both began to be pulled downstream by the fast-moving current. Both attempted to swim towards the river bank but the woman didn���t make it out.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
205,769
Population (ACS)
$519K
Median home value
30
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Aug 10, 2023 | Fire | WILDFIRES AND HIGH WINDS | DR |
| Aug 9, 2023 | Fire | MAUNA KEA BEACH FIRE | FM |
| Aug 8, 2023 | Fire | KOHALA RANCH FIRE | FM |
| Aug 1, 2021 | Fire | MANA ROAD FIRE | FM |
| Jul 25, 2020 | Hurricane | HURRICANE DOUGLAS | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Naalehu 160
- Kailua Kona 112
- Hilo 103
- Pahala 102
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hawaii County, Hawaii?
957 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 6 direct deaths and $97.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hawaii County?
Heavy Rain, with 648 recorded events — 67.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hawaii County?
5 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 5 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hawaii County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hawaii County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hawaii County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hawaii County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 99 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hawaii County, Hawaii severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Honolulu County 937
- Kalawao County 0
- Kauai County 546
- Maui County 875
Cite this page
“Hawaii County, Hawaii.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/hawaii/hawaii-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.