NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hilo, HI
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Hilo, Hawaii since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Darby in 2016. Since 1950, 5 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 5
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Hilo
The strongest storm to pass near Hilo was Kanoa in 1957, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The record near Hilo begins with Kanoa in 1957; the most recent system was Darby in 2016, a tropical storm 31 miles away. The busiest decade was the 2010s, with 2 systems. Of the 4 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 57 Hawaii cities on this site, 40% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Hilo. The strongest of the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on March 20, 1980; its path passed within a mile of the city centre. Of the 5, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and one has come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on February 28, 2004. Of the 57 Hawaii cities, 46% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Hilo. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 2 times since 2004, with stones up to 0.75 inches (penny size). Hilo has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 57 Hawaii cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hilo
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | DarbyJul 24 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2014 | IselleAug 8 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1972 | DianaAug 19 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1957 | KanoaJul 26 | 71 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Hilo: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hilo
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 1980 | F1 | in town | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2004 | F0 | 22 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1986 | F0 | in town | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 20, 1978 | F0 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 19, 1955 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 5 of 5, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hilo
The Storm Prediction Center has 2 hail reports within 10 miles of Hilo since 2004. None of them reached 1 inch. The largest size, 0.75 inches (penny size), was reported on 2 days, most recently December 30, 2013. The most recent report is from December 30, 2013.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hilo
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hilo International Airport, HI, 3 miles east of Hilo at 38 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 70°F; February is the coolest, at 78°F and 64°F. November is the wettest at 14.4 inches of precipitation on average and May the driest at 7.0 inches; the year adds up to 120.4 inches over 186 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 120.4 inches is more than at 29 of the 33 Hawaii stations used on this site (88%). Keaau, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (Hilo 5 S, HI): 151.4 inches a year, 31.0 more than here, and an August average high of 80°F against 83°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Hilo, Hilo Bay, Kuhio Bay, HI, 3 miles northeast, averaged 81°F in October and 77°F in March over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from August to October. Sea level at the Hilo tide gauge, 3 miles from Hilo, has risen 1.24 ± 0.05 inches per decade from 1927 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 12.4 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 73 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 79 | 64 | 7.9 | 10 | 78 |
| Feb | 78 | 64 | 10.2 | 11 | 77 |
| Mar | 79 | 65 | 12.7 | 15 | 77 |
| Apr | 79 | 66 | 9.4 | 17 | 77 |
| May | 81 | 67 | 7.0 | 14 | 78 |
| Jun | 82 | 69 | 7.3 | 17 | 79 |
| Jul | 83 | 70 | 9.2 | 19 | 80 |
| Aug | 83 | 70 | 11.3 | 18 | 80 |
| Sep | 83 | 70 | 8.7 | 15 | 81 |
| Oct | 82 | 69 | 10.2 | 17 | 81 |
| Nov | 80 | 68 | 14.4 | 17 | 80 |
| Dec | 79 | 66 | 12.1 | 16 | 79 |
| Year | 81 | 67 | 120.4 | 186 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hilo International Airport, HI (38 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Hilo, Hilo Bay, Kuhio Bay, HI, from NOAA Tides & Currents. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Hilo
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 93 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hilo: 72 heavy rain events, 16 flash floods, 3 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on January 24, 1999. December has had the most flash floods, 5 of 16. Of the 51 Hawaii cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 19 have had fewer than Hilo.
July 10, 2011: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Hilo — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “A brief heavy shower over the eastern parts of the Big Island of Hawaii caused the Kawainui Stream to rise abruptly. Two individuals prawning in the stream bed were caught in the rapidly moving water.”
September 14, 2015: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Hilo — 1 killed.
NWS: “m. |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.”
March 23, 2026: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Hilo — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain developed over the eastern and southeastern areas of the Big Island, leading to flooding impacts. Flooding was reported along Bayfront Highway and on Highway 11 south of Hilo.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Hilo's ZIP code 96720 have filed 214 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $3.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 2000: 52 claims (24% of all) and $1.5 million, then Hurricane Lane in 2018 with 11. 30% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 38 Hawaii cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 28 have fewer than Hilo.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding2000 | 52 | $1.5 million |
| Hurricane Lane2018 | 11 | $462,000 |
Hawaii County, which includes Hilo, has been named in 35 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 fires, 6 hurricanes, 4 earthquakes, 3 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Lala, on October 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Hawaii County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for inland flooding; Relatively Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding; Very Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $365.0 million a year, the 2nd highest of 5 Hawaii counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $185.3 million (51%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Hilo
- Keaau, HI8 mi
- Kurtistown, HI11 mi
- Mountain View, HI14 mi
- Pahoa, HI19 mi
- Volcano, HI20 mi
- Honokaa, HI38 mi
- Kamuela, HI45 mi
- Holualoa, HI47 mi
- Waikoloa, HI48 mi
- Naalehu, HI52 mi
- Kealakekua, HI55 mi
- Kapaau, HI57 mi
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