Special Marine Warning Issued for Kauai Waters Due to Severe Thunderstorms and Potential Waterspouts
This alert is no longer in effect.
NOAA issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The National Weather Service has issued a Special Marine Warning for Kauai's northwest, windward, and leeward waters through 9:15 PM HST due to severe thunderstorms.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Special Marine Warning
- Affected area
- Kauai Coastal Waters
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- NWS Honolulu
Marine notices apply to named waters or shoreline zones. They may not describe conditions on land, even when the nearest place name is the same.
Record status: historical. It was issued 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Kauai Coastal Waters.
Alert Details
The National Weather Service in Honolulu has issued a Special Marine Warning (NWS Alert Type: MAW). This alert is in effect for marine areas surrounding Kauai due to severe thunderstorms detected by radar.
Affected Areas
The warning covers the following geographic regions:
- Kauai Northwest Waters
- Kauai Windward Waters
- Kauai Leeward Waters
What You Should Do
Mariners and residents in the affected areas should take the following precautions immediately:
- Prepare for gusty winds, steep and fast-building seas, and blinding downpours.
- Stay low or go below deck to ensure safety.
- Ensure all individuals on board are wearing life jackets.
- Avoid the area if possible as waterspouts can easily overturn boats and create locally hazardous seas.
Expected Conditions
At 7:19 PM HST, radar indicated severe thunderstorms capable of producing waterspouts along a line extending from 50 nm northwest of Na Pali State Park to 25 nm northwest of Lehua Rock.
Key hazards include:
- Waterspouts: Potential for sudden formation which can damage or overturn vessels.
- Wind: Gusts of 34 knots or greater.
- Movement: The storm system is moving northeast at 20 knots.
- Impact: Small craft could be damaged in briefly higher winds and suddenly higher waves. These thunderstorms are expected to remain primarily over open waters.
Timeline
- Issued: March 11 at 7:20 PM HST
- Effective: Immediately
- Expires: March 11 at 9:15 PM HST
Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗
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