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Constant steady heavy rain: 2 inches per hour for the most part with maybe 1 period of 3 inches an hour. It wasn't a blinding rainstorm you get in many places but a constant steady downpour with big tropical rain drops=49 in 24hr.
It was from a "remote" rain gauge. I'm interested in what kind of rain gauge holds 4 feet of rain. Must be huge. Also, when was it installed? Also, who actually went there and got the measurement?
I wish we had rain gauges in every area of the world.
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Preliminary data downloaded from a remote rain gage in North Kauai indicate that rainfall during the flash flood event on April 14-15, 2018 broke the U.S. 24-hour rainfall record. The rain gauge, located in Waipa about one mile west of Hanalei, recorded 49.69 inches of rainfall during the 24-hour period ending at 12:45 pm HST April 15. This total, if certified, will break the current U.S. 24-hour record of 43 inches at Alvin, TX on July 25-26, 1979, and the state of Hawaii record of 38 inches at Kilauea (Kauai) on January 24-25, 1956
The statement goes on to note that the National Climatic Extremes Committee will convene to review the case and start the certification process.
Interesting comparisons to other areas.
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This particular region is no stranger to wet conditions. Mount Waialeale, the second highest peak on the island of Kauai (5,148 feet above sea level) is considered by some sources as the wettest place on Earth. However, many sources place the wettest location on the planet in India at either Cherrapunji or Mawsynram. According to a Weather.com article, there is "467.35 inches per year for Mawsynram vs. 463.66 inches for Cherrapunji." The same article also notes,
By the way, Jurassic Park was filmed in the lush vegetation and mountainous surroundings of Mt. Waialeale. Other very wet places on Earth include:
Tutendo, Colombia, South America
Big Bog, Maui, Hawaii
Debundscha, Cameroon, Africa
San Antonio de Ureca, Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
Cropp River, New Zealand.
And here's the reason..Not too detailed but it was as simple as a "slow" moving Jet stream digging down forming a trough over the area and that rain gauge was in the right place at the right time..
Quote:
So what caused this particular flooding event? According to NASA, it appears that a trough (an elongated area of low pressure) disrupted typical northeast trade winds flow producing heavy rainfall as the trough strengthened and slowly drifted over Kauai.
That's fascinating. I'm especially shocked how it seems orthographic lift wasn't that much of a factor (and, if anything, that area looks like it was on the LEE side of the mountain :O)
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