NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kahuku, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Kahuku, Hawaii since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Douglas in 2020. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 12
- 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 Kahuku
The strongest storm to pass near Kahuku was Douglas in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane with 91 mph winds when its centre passed 35 miles away. The record near Kahuku begins with Gil in 1983; the most recent system was Douglas in 2020. Of the 57 Hawaii cities on this site, 40% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Kahuku. The strongest of the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F2 on March 18, 1982; its path came within 14 miles. Of the 12, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 2 have come since 2000. The most recent tornado was on February 11, 2009. Kahuku has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 57 Hawaii cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kahuku
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Kahuku: 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 Kahuku
By decade
- 2000s2
- 1980s6
- 1970s1
- 1960s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 18, 1982 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1988 | F1 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 28, 1971 | F1 | 14 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1963 | F1 | 4 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 21, 1957 | F1 | 14 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 11, 2009 | EF0 | 25 mi | 0.36 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 25, 2004 | F0 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 11, 1989 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 13, 1986 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 26, 1985 | F0 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 23, 1983 | F0 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 22, 1965 | F0 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kahuku
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Kahuku since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kahuku
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kii-Kahuku 911, HI, 1 mile southeast of Kahuku at 25 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 75°F; February is the coolest, at 77°F and 66°F. November is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 32.8 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from September. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 32.8 inches is more than at 14 of the 33 Hawaii stations used on this site (42%). Haleiwa, 8 miles southwest, has its own station (Waimea Valley 892.2, HI): 52.0 inches a year, 19.2 more than here, and an August average high of 86°F against 83°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Mokuoloe, HI, 21 miles southeast, averaged 82°F in September and 76°F in February over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from June to October. Sea level at the Mokuoloe tide gauge, 21 miles from Kahuku, has risen 0.70 ± 0.10 inches per decade from 1957 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 7.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 32 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 77 | 66 | 2.8 | 6 | 76 |
| Feb | 77 | 66 | 3.3 | 6 | 76 |
| Mar | 77 | 67 | 3.9 | 7 | 77 |
| Apr | 78 | 69 | 2.0 | 5 | 78 |
| May | 80 | 70 | 2.0 | 4 | 79 |
| Jun | 81 | 73 | 1.5 | 4 | 81 |
| Jul | 82 | 73 | 1.8 | 5 | 81 |
| Aug | 83 | 75 | 2.0 | 5 | 82 |
| Sep | 83 | 74 | 2.3 | 5 | 82 |
| Oct | 82 | 73 | 3.1 | 6 | 81 |
| Nov | 80 | 71 | 4.1 | 8 | 79 |
| Dec | 78 | 69 | 4.0 | 6 | 77 |
| Year | 80 | 70 | 32.8 | 67 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kii-Kahuku 911, HI (25 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Mokuoloe, 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 Kahuku
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 184 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kahuku: 160 heavy rain events, 21 flash floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $1.03 billion in property and crop damage. March has had the most flash floods, 7 of 21. Of the 51 Hawaii cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 28 have had fewer than Kahuku.
March 20, 2026: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Kahuku — 10 injured, $1.01 billion damage.
NWS: “At approximately 800 pm HST, a mesoscale convective system was observed moving over the Kauai Channel towards Oahu. At around 900 pm HST, this mesoscale convective system moved over the west side of Oahu, then the Northern half of Oahu, and began to deliver large amounts of heavy rain.”
February 21, 2026: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Kahuku — $10.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain began falling over the Koolau mountain range early in the morning and became anchored through most of the day. Widespread flooding occurred over much of the Koolau Mountains and eastern areas of Oahu.”
March 23, 2026: flash flood in Kahuku — $10.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain fell over the Koolau mountain range in the middle to later half of the morning, then a thunderstorm developed and anchored itself over the mountains.”
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 Kahuku's ZIP code 96731 have filed 12 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $11,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 25% 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, 4 have fewer than Kahuku.
Honolulu County, which includes Kahuku, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 hurricanes, 4 fires, 4 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Lala, on October 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Honolulu County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Moderate for coastal flooding; Relatively Low for hurricanes and tornadoes; Very Low for hail and strong wind. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $517.3 million a year, the highest of 5 Hawaii counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $329.7 million (64%), 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 Kahuku
- Laie, HI3 mi
- Hauula, HI6 mi
- Haleiwa, HI8 mi
- Wahiawa, HI14 mi
- Kaneohe, HI14 mi
- Waialua, HI14 mi
- Mililani, HI16 mi
- Pearl City, HI19 mi
- Waipahu, HI20 mi
- Aiea, HI21 mi
- Kaneohe Bay, HI22 mi
- Waianae, HI22 mi
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