NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kapaau, 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 Kapaau, 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 Kapaau
The strongest storm to pass near Kapaau was Douglas in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. The record near Kapaau begins with Diana in 1972; the most recent system was Linda in 2021, a tropical storm 57 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 Kapaau.
Compare Kapaau's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kapaau
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | LindaAug 23 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | DouglasJul 26 | 68 mi | Category 1 (86 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | OliviaSep 12 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2016 | DarbyJul 24 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2014 | IselleAug 8 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1972 | DianaAug 20 | 72 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 Kapaau: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Hail in Kapaau
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Kapaau since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kapaau
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Puukohola Heiau 98.1, HI, 14 miles south of Kapaau at 133 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 75°F; January is the coolest, at 82°F and 68°F. January is the wettest at 1.5 inches of precipitation on average and July the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 8.9 inches over 16 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from July to October. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 8.9 inches is more than at 0 of the 33 Hawaii stations used on this site (0%). Honokaa, 20 miles southeast, has its own station (Paauilo 221, HI): 90.3 inches a year, 81.4 more than here, and an August average high of 83°F against 89°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Kawaihae, HI, 13 miles south, 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, 13 miles from Kapaau, 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 | 82 | 68 | 1.5 | 2 | 78 |
| Feb | 83 | 68 | 0.7 | 2 | 78 |
| Mar | 84 | 70 | 0.9 | 2 | 78 |
| Apr | 85 | 71 | 0.4 | 1 | 79 |
| May | 86 | 72 | 0.5 | 1 | 80 |
| Jun | 87 | 74 | 0.6 | 1 | 81 |
| Jul | 88 | 75 | 0.2 | 1 | 81 |
| Aug | 89 | 75 | 0.8 | 1 | 82 |
| Sep | 88 | 75 | 0.6 | 1 | 82 |
| Oct | 87 | 74 | 0.8 | 1 | 81 |
| Nov | 86 | 73 | 0.7 | 1 | 80 |
| Dec | 84 | 70 | 1.2 | 2 | 79 |
| Year | 86 | 72 | 8.9 | 16 | 80 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Puukohola Heiau 98.1, HI (133 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 Kapaau
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 95 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kapaau: 90 heavy rain events and 5 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $5.0 million in property and crop damage. Of the 51 Hawaii cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 3 have had fewer than Kapaau.
March 14, 2026: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Kapaau — $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain developed over the Kona slopes during the evening of March 14. At approximately 1000 pm HST, significant flooding was reported on Alii Drive with a large amount of water on roadways.”
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 Kapaau, 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 Kapaau
- Kamuela, HI14 mi
- Waikoloa, HI19 mi
- Honokaa, HI20 mi
- Kailua Kona, HI40 mi
- Kealakekua, HI49 mi
- Kula, HI50 mi
- Holualoa, HI56 mi
- Haiku, HI56 mi
- Makawao, HI57 mi
- Hilo, HI57 mi
- Kihei, HI58 mi
- Paia, HI61 mi
All Hawaii cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Kapaau with another place →