NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waipahu, 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 Waipahu, 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 Waipahu
The strongest storm to pass near Waipahu was Dot in 1959, a Category 1 hurricane with 92 mph winds when its centre passed 69 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Douglas in 2020, whose centre came within 55 miles. The record near Waipahu begins with Dot in 1959; the most recent system was Douglas in 2020. Of the 4 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Waipahu 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, came within 7 miles. Of the 19, 2 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. Waipahu is tied for the most tornadoes within 25 miles among the 57 Hawaii cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles once, in 2023, with stones of 1.25 inches (half dollar size). Waipahu has more hail reports within 10 miles than 49% of the 57 Hawaii cities.
Compare Waipahu's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waipahu
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | DouglasJul 27 | 55 mi | Category 1 (91 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | OliviaSep 12 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1983 | GilAug 3 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1959 | DotAug 7 | 69 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 Waipahu: 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 Waipahu
By decade
- 2010s2
- 2000s2
- 1980s8
- 1970s3
- 1960s3
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 18, 1982 | F2 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 11, 1982 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 11, 1982 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 26, 1988 | F1 | 6 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1971 | F1 | 8 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 28, 1971 | F1 | 7 mi | 1.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 28, 1963 | F1 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 1, 1963 | F1 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jan 21, 1957 | F1 | 9 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 2015 | EF0 | 6 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 9, 2012 | EF0 | 18 mi | 1.29 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 11, 2009 | EF0 | 5 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 Waipahu
The Storm Prediction Center has one hail report within 10 miles of Waipahu, from March 23, 2023: 1.25 inches (half dollar size).
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waipahu
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ewa Beach Usgs 702.2, HI, 6 miles south of Waipahu at 5 feet. August is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 80°F and 62°F. March is the wettest at 2.7 inches of precipitation on average and June the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 17.0 inches over 26 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to October. A night below freezing comes less than once a year on average. That 17.0 inches is more than at 6 of the 33 Hawaii stations used on this site (18%). Pearl City, 3 miles east, has its own station (Honolulu International Airport, HI): 16.4 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and an August average high of 89°F against 87°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Honolulu, HI, 12 miles southeast, averaged 81°F in September and October and 77°F in February over 2021–2025. It averaged 80°F or warmer from July to October. Sea level at the Honolulu tide gauge, 12 miles from Waipahu, has risen 0.62 ± 0.04 inches per decade from 1905 to 2025, NOAA's linear trend; at that pace it is 6.2 inches in a hundred years. That is faster than at 29 of the 144 U.S. gauges with a NOAA trend.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 80 | 62 | 1.8 | 4 | 77 |
| Feb | 80 | 63 | 1.7 | 3 | 77 |
| Mar | 81 | 64 | 2.7 | 4 | 77 |
| Apr | 82 | 66 | 0.8 | 2 | 78 |
| May | 84 | 67 | 1.0 | 2 | 78 |
| Jun | 86 | 69 | 0.4 | 1 | 79 |
| Jul | 87 | 71 | 0.5 | 1 | 80 |
| Aug | 87 | 71 | 0.8 | 1 | 81 |
| Sep | 87 | 70 | 0.8 | 1 | 81 |
| Oct | 86 | 69 | 1.7 | 2 | 81 |
| Nov | 84 | 67 | 2.2 | 3 | 80 |
| Dec | 81 | 65 | 2.6 | 3 | 78 |
| Year | 84 | 67 | 17.0 | 26 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ewa Beach Usgs 702.2, HI (5 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Honolulu, 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 Waipahu
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 135 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waipahu: 100 heavy rain events, 19 flash floods, 9 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $236,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 61 mph, on December 19, 2022. March has had the most flash floods, 8 of 19. Of the 51 Hawaii cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 25 have had fewer than Waipahu.
March 13, 2026: flash flood 1 mile from the centre of Waipahu — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain moved over southern Oahu in Honolulu and east Honolulu from the south. Flooding was reported on Queen Street and Kapiolani Boulevard.”
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 Waipahu's ZIP code 96797 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1989, and were paid $32,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 38 Hawaii cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 0 have fewer than Waipahu.
Honolulu County, which includes Waipahu, 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.