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Hurricane Darby Recap: Hawaii Soaked

At a Glance

Darby strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane in the eastern Pacific.
Darby then moved through the Hawaiian Islands as a tropical storm.
Rainfall flooding was the main impact in the Hawaiian Islands.

While Hurricane Darby did attain Category 3 intensity, it was Darby's later life as a tropical storm over the Hawaiian Islands that was most memorable about this July 2016 named storm.

Bands of heavy rain on the east side of Darby's circulation hammered parts of Oahu Sunday night, July 24 into early Monday, July 25, triggering flash flooding.

According to gauge data, parts of Oahu picked up over 7 inches of rain in just 3 hours, leading to flooding of a section of the H-1 freeway in the city of Honolulu, among other flooded roads.

Some homes were flooded in Honolulu's Kalihi neighborhood, as well, according to Hawaii News Now.

Here are some 24-hour rainfall totals from Darby (ending at 3 a.m. HST Monday, July 25).

Location	Rainfall (Inches)
Moanalua, Oahu	11.22
Luluku, Oahu	10.89
Kaupo Gap, Maui	3.82
Kilohana, Kauai	3.36
Honolulu Int'l Airport	1.67

More impacts from Darby can be found here.

(MORE: Hurricane Season Outlook | Hurricane Central)

Some of Darby's rainfall has not entirely been a bad thing. Most leeward locations of the islands were reporting at least moderate drought prior to Darby.

Darby's History

Tropical Storm Darby made landfall as a 40 mph tropical storm on the Big Island of Hawaii near Pahala on July 23 very close to where Iselle made landfall in 2014.

Darby became only the fifth known tropical cyclone to landfall in Hawaii since 1958, according to hurricane researcher Brenden Moses.

Sustained winds of 43 mph and a gust to 61 mph were reported at Kohala Ranch on the Big Island. Heavy rain and a wind gust to 45 mph was recorded at Lanai City, Hawaii on Saturday.

A gust to 56 mph was recorded at the Oahu National Wildlife refuge on Saturday night.

Darby generated winds that knocked down trees and power lines and heavy rain that produced localized flooding on the Big Island and on Maui.

There were some road closures and minor property damage on both islands. Hawaii Department of Civil Defense reported that Highway 11 was closed closed at mile marker 59 near Kawa Flats due to flooding.

Darby reached its peak intensity as a Category 3 hurricane on July 16. According to Dr. Phil Klotzbach, Darby is the fifth consecutive east Pacific use of the name "Darby" that has reached major hurricane status.