NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kurtistown, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Kurtistown, 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
- 3
- 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 Kurtistown
The strongest storm to pass near Kurtistown was Kanoa in 1957, a Category 1 hurricane with 86 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. The record near Kurtistown begins with Kanoa in 1957; the most recent system was Darby in 2016, a tropical storm 24 miles away. The busiest decade was the 2010s, with 2 systems. Of the 4 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 57 Hawaii cities on this site, 40% have more hurricanes within 75 miles than Kurtistown. The strongest of the 5 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F1 on March 20, 1980; its path came within 10 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 Kurtistown. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 4 times since 2006, with stones up to 0.9 inches. Kurtistown has more hail reports within 10 miles than 87% of the 57 Hawaii cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kurtistown
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | DarbyJul 23 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 2014 | IselleAug 8 | 29 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1972 | DianaAug 19 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1957 | KanoaJul 26 | 69 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 Kurtistown: 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 Kurtistown
By decade
- 2000s1
- 1980s2
- 1970s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 1980 | F1 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2004 | F0 | 15 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1986 | F0 | 10 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 20, 1978 | F0 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 19, 1955 | F0 | 13 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 Kurtistown
The Storm Prediction Center has 4 hail reports within 10 miles of Kurtistown since 2006, made on 3 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 Kurtistown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hilo 5 S, HI, 6 miles north of Kurtistown 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%). Mountain View, 5 miles southwest, has its own station (Glenwood #2 55.4, HI): 229.1 inches a year, 77.7 more than here, and an August average high of 77°F against 80°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Hilo, Hilo Bay, Kuhio Bay, HI, 12 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, 12 miles from Kurtistown, 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 Kurtistown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 39 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kurtistown: 25 heavy rain events, 12 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $325,000 in property and crop damage. December has had the most flash floods, 4 of 12. Of the 51 Hawaii cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 9 have had fewer than Kurtistown.
April 7, 2026: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Kurtistown — $200,000 damage.
March 13, 2026: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Kurtistown — $100,000 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
Hawaii County, which includes Kurtistown, 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 Kurtistown
- Mountain View, HI5 mi
- Keaau, HI5 mi
- Pahoa, HI10 mi
- Hilo, HI11 mi
- Volcano, HI13 mi
- Holualoa, HI46 mi
- Naalehu, HI46 mi
- Honokaa, HI47 mi
- Kamuela, HI53 mi
- Waikoloa, HI54 mi
- Ocean View, HI56 mi
- Kealakekua, HI56 mi
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