NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Honokaa, 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
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Honokaa, Hawaii since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Linda in 2021. No tornado has been recorded within 25 miles since 1950.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 0
- 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 Honokaa
The strongest storm to pass near Honokaa was Douglas in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. The record near Honokaa begins with Diana in 1972; the most recent system was Linda in 2021, a tropical storm 63 miles away. The busiest decade was the 2010s, with 3 systems. Of the 6 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Of the 57 Hawaii cities on this site, 40% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Honokaa. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 2012, with stones of 1 inch (quarter size). Honokaa has more hail reports within 10 miles than 49% of the 57 Hawaii cities.
Compare Honokaa's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Honokaa
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | LindaAug 23 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | DouglasJul 26 | 68 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | OliviaSep 12 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2016 | DarbyJul 24 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2014 | IselleAug 8 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1972 | DianaAug 20 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Honokaa: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Hail in Honokaa
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Honokaa, from March 8, 2012: 1 inch (quarter size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Honokaa
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Paauilo 221, HI, 10 miles east of Honokaa at 840 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 65°F; March is the coolest, at 77°F and 56°F. March is the wettest at 11.8 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 3.8 inches; the year adds up to 90.3 inches over 110 days with at least a tenth of an inch. That 90.3 inches is more than at 27 of the 33 Hawaii stations used on this site (82%). Kamuela, 12 miles west, has its own station (Puukohola Heiau 98.1, HI): 8.9 inches a year, 81.4 less than here, and an August average high of 89°F against 83°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Kawaihae, HI, 21 miles west, averaged 82°F in September and 78°F in February over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from June to November. Sea level at the Kawaihae tide gauge, 21 miles from Honokaa, has risen 1.50 ± 0.19 inches per decade from 1988 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 15.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 90 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 78 | 57 | 7.6 | 8 | 78 |
| Feb | 78 | 57 | 8.8 | 9 | 78 |
| Mar | 77 | 56 | 11.8 | 12 | 78 |
| Apr | 80 | 59 | 9.7 | 11 | 79 |
| May | 80 | 61 | 6.2 | 8 | 80 |
| Jun | 83 | 62 | 3.8 | 7 | 81 |
| Jul | 82 | 65 | 5.9 | 10 | 81 |
| Aug | 83 | 65 | 6.7 | 10 | 82 |
| Sep | 83 | 65 | 4.5 | 7 | 82 |
| Oct | 82 | 61 | 5.3 | 8 | 81 |
| Nov | 79 | 61 | 10.0 | 11 | 80 |
| Dec | 78 | 58 | 10.0 | 10 | 79 |
| Year | 80 | 61 | 90.3 | 110 | 80 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Paauilo 221, HI (840 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Kawaihae, 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 Honokaa
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 43 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Honokaa: 35 heavy rain events and 8 flash floods. They killed 2 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $7.1 million in property and crop damage. Of the 51 Hawaii cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 5 have had fewer than Honokaa.
January 21, 2017: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Honokaa — 1 killed.
NWS: “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.”
February 18, 2018: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Honokaa — 1 killed.
NWS: “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.”
August 22, 2018: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Honokaa — $7.1 million damage.
NWS: “Flash flooding continued for about two full days for much of the east half of the Big Island of Hawaii. From near Hawi in the north to the Kawa Flats area in the south, almost continuous heavy rain and thunderstorms associated with Hurricane Lane affected the isle.”
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
Hawaii County, which includes Honokaa, 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 Honokaa
- Kamuela, HI12 mi
- Kapaau, HI20 mi
- Waikoloa, HI20 mi
- Hilo, HI38 mi
- Kailua Kona, HI41 mi
- Keaau, HI46 mi
- Kealakekua, HI47 mi
- Kurtistown, HI47 mi
- Mountain View, HI47 mi
- Volcano, HI49 mi
- Holualoa, HI49 mi
- Pahoa, HI56 mi
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