Hawaii Hurricanes

Throughout the years, Hawaii has been victim to many hurricanes, although it is not as common in these tropical waters as in other coastal regions of the world.  Since 1950, Hawaii has been affected by numerous tropical storms and hurricanes, although the islands have only officially been struck by a total of five hurricanes.  Other hurricanes have come close to the islands of Hawaii over the years, causing increased rain, wind, and surf.

The primary 6 Hawaiian Hurricanes:

Hurricane Hiki (1950) This was first categorized as a tropical storm named Able, and later reclassified as a hurricane by the now famous Robert Simpson, stationed at the Weather Bureau in Honolulu and is the Simpson in the Saffir-Simpson scale of measuring hurricanes.  Hiki passed the northern shores of Hawaii, brining 68 mph winds into Kauai and 52 inches of rainfall in 4 days.  One known death was caused by this Hawaiian hurricane, although no property damages were recorded.

Hurricane Nina (1957) This hurricane never actually made landfall, making a sharp turn away from the island state and only coming about 120 miles offshore, according to estimates.  Nonetheless, Hurricane Nina did cause approximately $100k in property damage and bring 20 inches of rain in about 14 hours.  Nina was classified as a category 1 hurricane and caused the record wind of 82 mph to be recorded in Honolulu.

Hurricane Dot (1959) While this hurricane caused no deaths, it started out a category 4 hurricane and was a category 1 by the time it made landfall.  With winds range upwards of 100 mph, the storm snapped palm trees in two and caused a few million dollars in damage.

Hurricane Iwa (1982) Causing over $250 million dollars in damage, Iwa was at one point the most devastating hurricane to hit Hawaii.  Hurricane Iwa passed just a few miles to the west of Kauai, travelling at approximately 50mph.  Hurricane Iwa was only a category 1 hurricane.

Hurricane Estelle (1986) Estelle was another hurricane that never made landfall in Hawaii, although its effects were still far enough reaching to bring waves that caused $2 million in property damage and two deaths.

Hurricane Iniki (1992) On September 11th, Kauai was struck by the category 4 Hurricane Iniki.  To this day, Iniki is said to be the most destructive to ever hit Hawaii.  Winds were recorded in excess of 140 mph and damages totaled more than $2 billion.