NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kula, 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 Kula, Hawaii since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Linda in 2021. Since 1950, 4 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 4
- 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 Kula
The strongest storm to pass near Kula was Douglas in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. The record near Kula begins with Olivia in 2018; the most recent system was Linda in 2021, a tropical storm 32 miles away. Of the 57 Hawaii cities on this site, 40% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Kula. The highest rating among the 4 tornadoes within 25 miles is F0 or EF0, reached 4 times; the most recent, on February 11, 2011, came within 8 miles. Of the 57 Hawaii cities, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Kula.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kula
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Kula: 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 Kula
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 11, 2011 | EF0 | 8 mi | 0.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 25, 2006 | F0 | 14 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 29, 1974 | F0 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 1967 | F0 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 4 of 4, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kula
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Kula since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kula
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kula Hospital 267, HI, 2 miles southwest of Kula at 3,030 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 75°F and low of 58°F; February is the coolest, at 68°F and 51°F. January is the wettest at 3.9 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 31.0 inches over 49 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 31.0 inches is more than at 13 of the 33 Hawaii stations used on this site (39%). Makawao, 10 miles north, has its own station (Kahului Airport, HI): 16.1 inches a year, 14.9 less than here, and an August average high of 90°F against 75°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Kahului, Kahului Harbor, HI, 14 miles northwest, averaged 81°F in September and 76°F in February over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from August to October. Sea level at the Kahului tide gauge, 14 miles from Kula, has risen 0.90 ± 0.07 inches per decade from 1947 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 9.0 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 52 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68 | 51 | 3.9 | 4 | 77 |
| Feb | 68 | 51 | 2.9 | 5 | 76 |
| Mar | 68 | 52 | 3.4 | 5 | 76 |
| Apr | 70 | 53 | 2.1 | 4 | 77 |
| May | 71 | 55 | 2.8 | 5 | 78 |
| Jun | 73 | 56 | 1.2 | 4 | 79 |
| Jul | 74 | 57 | 2.1 | 4 | 80 |
| Aug | 75 | 58 | 2.0 | 3 | 80 |
| Sep | 75 | 58 | 2.7 | 5 | 81 |
| Oct | 73 | 57 | 2.7 | 4 | 80 |
| Nov | 71 | 55 | 2.4 | 4 | 78 |
| Dec | 69 | 53 | 2.8 | 4 | 77 |
| Year | 71 | 55 | 31.0 | 49 | 78 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kula Hospital 267, HI (3,030 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Kahului, Kahului Harbor, 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 Kula
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 96 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kula: 67 heavy rain events, 21 flash floods, 5 floods and 3 thunderstorm wind reports. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 60 mph, on January 10, 2025. February has had the most flash floods, 6 of 21. Of the 51 Hawaii cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 28 have had fewer than Kula.
January 27, 2023: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Kula — 1 killed.
December 5, 2007: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Kula — 1 injured.
NWS: “A home was washed off its foundation in Keokea in Upcountry Maui by flood waters, and two persons were then rescued by helicopter. Another individual was injured in this event.”
May 1, 2022: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Kula — $1.2 million damage.
NWS: “Piilani Highway between mile markers 31 and 39 became impassable after heavy rain, and a culvert was washed out at the Lelekea Culvert crossing.”
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 Kula's ZIP code 96790 have filed 13 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $248,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 31% 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, 7 have fewer than Kula.
Maui County, which includes Kula, has been named in 33 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 fires, 7 hurricanes, 5 floods, 5 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Lala, on October 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Maui County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for inland flooding and lightning; 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 $132.2 million a year, the 3rd highest of 5 Hawaii counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $59.4 million (45%), 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 Kula
- Kihei, HI8 mi
- Makawao, HI10 mi
- Haiku, HI13 mi
- Paia, HI13 mi
- Kahului, HI14 mi
- Wailuku, HI16 mi
- Lahaina, HI24 mi
- Lanai City, HI39 mi
- Kaunakakai, HI49 mi
- Kapaau, HI50 mi
- Kamuela, HI63 mi
- Waikoloa, HI65 mi
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