NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Keaau, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Keaau, 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
- 4
- 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 Keaau
The strongest storm to pass near Keaau was Kanoa in 1957, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 66 miles away. The record near Keaau begins with Kanoa in 1957; the most recent system was Darby in 2016, a tropical storm 29 miles away. The busiest decade was the 2010s, with 3 systems. Of the 5 systems, 3 have come since 2000. Of the 57 Hawaii cities on this site, 40% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Keaau. The strongest of the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on March 20, 1980; its path came within 8 miles. Of the 5, none had a path 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 Keaau. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 5 times since 2004, with stones up to 0.9 inches. Keaau has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 57 Hawaii cities.
Compare Keaau's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Keaau
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | DarbyJul 23 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2014 | IselleAug 8 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2013 | FlossieJul 29 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1972 | DianaAug 19 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1957 | KanoaJul 26 | 66 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 Keaau: 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 Keaau
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 1980 | F1 | 8 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2004 | F0 | 20 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1986 | F0 | 8 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 20, 1978 | F0 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 19, 1955 | F0 | 10 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 Keaau
The Storm Prediction Center has 5 hail reports within 10 miles of Keaau since 2004, made on 4 separate days. None of them reached 1 inch. The largest, 0.9 inches, fell on March 24, 2006. The most recent report is from February 5, 2021.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Keaau
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hilo 5 S, HI, 5 miles west of Keaau at 622 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 75°F and 61°F. November is the wettest at 17.8 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 9.1 inches; the year adds up to 151.4 inches over 195 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs of 90°F are rare: fewer than one day a year on average. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 151.4 inches is more than at 31 of the 33 Hawaii stations used on this site (94%). Hilo, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Hilo International Airport, HI): 120.4 inches a year, 31.0 less than here, and an August average high of 83°F against 80°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Hilo, Hilo Bay, Kuhio Bay, HI, 8 miles north, 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, 8 miles from Keaau, 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 | 75 | 61 | 10.1 | 11 | 78 |
| Feb | 76 | 61 | 12.9 | 12 | 77 |
| Mar | 75 | 62 | 15.4 | 18 | 77 |
| Apr | 76 | 62 | 12.6 | 18 | 77 |
| May | 77 | 64 | 9.6 | 17 | 78 |
| Jun | 79 | 65 | 9.1 | 17 | 79 |
| Jul | 79 | 66 | 12.0 | 18 | 80 |
| Aug | 80 | 67 | 12.8 | 19 | 80 |
| Sep | 80 | 66 | 11.2 | 16 | 81 |
| Oct | 79 | 65 | 13.3 | 17 | 81 |
| Nov | 77 | 64 | 17.8 | 17 | 80 |
| Dec | 76 | 62 | 14.6 | 16 | 79 |
| Year | 78 | 64 | 151.4 | 195 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hilo 5 S, HI (622 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 Keaau
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 52 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Keaau: 30 heavy rain events, 18 flash floods, 2 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $230,000 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, 7 of 18. Of the 51 Hawaii cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 23 have had fewer than Keaau.
September 14, 2015: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Keaau — 1 killed.
April 7, 2026: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Keaau — $200,000 damage.
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 Keaau's ZIP code 96749 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1983, and were paid $146,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 10% 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, 0 have fewer than Keaau.
Hawaii County, which includes Keaau, 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 Keaau
- Kurtistown, HI5 mi
- Hilo, HI8 mi
- Mountain View, HI10 mi
- Pahoa, HI11 mi
- Volcano, HI18 mi
- Honokaa, HI46 mi
- Holualoa, HI50 mi
- Naalehu, HI52 mi
- Kamuela, HI53 mi
- Waikoloa, HI55 mi
- Kealakekua, HI60 mi
- Ocean View, HI61 mi
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