NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wahiawa, 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 Wahiawa, Hawaii since 1851, 2 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Douglas in 2020. Since 1950, 19 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 2
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 19
- 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 Wahiawa
The strongest storm to pass near Wahiawa was Dot in 1959, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Douglas in 2020, whose centre came within 49 miles. The record near Wahiawa begins with Dot in 1959; the most recent system was Douglas in 2020. Of the 4 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Wahiawa has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 59% of the 57 Hawaii cities on this site. The highest rating among the 19 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 18, 1982, passed within a mile of the city centre. Of the 19, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 5. The most recent tornado was on April 23, 2015. Wahiawa is tied for the most tornadoes within 25 miles among the 57 Hawaii cities.
Compare Wahiawa's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wahiawa
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | DouglasJul 27 | 49 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | OliviaSep 12 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1983 | GilAug 3 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1959 | DotAug 7 | 71 mi | Category 1 (92 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Wahiawa: 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 Wahiawa
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s2
- 1980s8
- 1970s3
- 1960s3
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 18, 1982 | F2 | in town | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 11, 1982 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 11, 1982 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1988 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1971 | F1 | 15 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 28, 1971 | F1 | in town | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1963 | F1 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 1, 1963 | F1 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 21, 1957 | F1 | 3 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 2015 | EF0 | 12 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 9, 2012 | EF0 | 21 mi | 1.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 11, 2009 | EF0 | 11 mi | 0.36 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 19, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wahiawa
The Storm Prediction Center has no hail reports within 10 miles of Wahiawa since 1955.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wahiawa
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Upper Wahiawa 874.3, HI, 2 miles east of Wahiawa at 1,006 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 68°F; February is the coolest, at 76°F and 60°F. December is the wettest at 7.5 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 4.0 inches; the year adds up to 64.1 inches over 127 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 1 days a year. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 64.1 inches is more than at 24 of the 33 Hawaii stations used on this site (73%). Waipahu, 7 miles south, has its own station (Ewa Beach Usgs 702.2, HI): 17.0 inches a year, 47.1 less than here, and an August average high of 87°F against 83°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Mokuoloe, HI, 17 miles east, 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, 17 miles from Wahiawa, 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 | 76 | 61 | 5.2 | 9 | 76 |
| Feb | 76 | 60 | 4.3 | 8 | 76 |
| Mar | 77 | 62 | 6.3 | 11 | 77 |
| Apr | 77 | 63 | 5.6 | 13 | 78 |
| May | 79 | 65 | 4.3 | 9 | 79 |
| Jun | 80 | 67 | 4.2 | 12 | 81 |
| Jul | 82 | 67 | 5.2 | 13 | 81 |
| Aug | 83 | 68 | 4.0 | 9 | 82 |
| Sep | 83 | 67 | 4.6 | 9 | 82 |
| Oct | 82 | 66 | 5.8 | 11 | 81 |
| Nov | 79 | 65 | 7.1 | 12 | 79 |
| Dec | 77 | 63 | 7.5 | 13 | 77 |
| Year | 79 | 64 | 64.1 | 127 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Upper Wahiawa 874.3, HI (1,006 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 Wahiawa
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 194 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wahiawa: 161 heavy rain events, 19 flash floods, 9 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $225,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 63 mph, on January 8, 2005. March has had the most flash floods, 7 of 19. Of the 51 Hawaii cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 25 have had fewer than Wahiawa.
December 13, 2008: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Wahiawa — 1 injured.
June 3, 2011: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Wahiawa — 1 injured.
March 13, 2026: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Wahiawa — $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
Honolulu County, which includes Wahiawa, 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 Wahiawa
- Mililani, HI3 mi
- Waipahu, HI7 mi
- Pearl City, HI8 mi
- Waialua, HI8 mi
- Haleiwa, HI9 mi
- Waianae, HI10 mi
- Kaneohe, HI10 mi
- Aiea, HI10 mi
- Hauula, HI11 mi
- Kapolei, HI11 mi
- Ewa Beach, HI11 mi
- Laie, HI12 mi
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