Felicia (2009)

A tropical wave that moved off Africa in late July organized in the eastern North Pacific and became a tropical depression on August 3, 2009 about 990 nautical miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. It strengthened to Tropical Storm Felicia early on August 4 and then underwent a rapid intensification phase, becoming a hurricane by the evening of August 4 and a major hurricane by August 6. Felicia tracked generally west‑northwestward and then westward across the eastern and central North Pacific, weakening as it moved over cooler water and encountered upper‑level wind shear. The system weakened to a tropical storm by August 9 and became a remnant low and dissipated east of the Big Island of Hawaii on August 11.

Felicia did not make any landfalls as a tropical cyclone. Its low‑level circulation deteriorated and the remnant low dissipated after interacting with the high terrain of the Island of Hawaii on August 11; the cyclone had already weakened to a tropical depression and then a remnant low prior to that interaction.

The storm reached its maximum intensity at 0000–0600 UTC on August 6 with sustained winds estimated at 125 knots (about 144 mph) and a minimum central pressure of 935 mb. At peak intensity Felicia was a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir‑Simpson scale.

While Felicia remained well offshore, it produced large swells that affected east‑facing shores of the Hawaiian Islands with surf heights of 6 to 10 feet during August 10–12. Heavy rainfall fell from the remnants as they passed over Hawaii on August 11–13. Notable rainfall totals included 14.63 inches at Oahu National Wildlife Refuge (Oahu), 13.46 inches at Mount Waialeale (Kauai), and 6.28 inches at West Wailuaki (Maui). Flooding briefly closed part of Kamehameha Highway near Waikane on Oahu when Waikane Stream overflowed on August 13.

There were no reported deaths and no reports of storm‑related damage attributed to Hurricane Felicia. The greatest impacts were coastal surf and localized freshwater flooding from the remnant moisture over the Hawaiian Islands.

Noteworthy items: Felicia’s rapid intensification shortly after formation was not well anticipated in forecasts, contributing to larger early intensity forecast errors. However, NHC track forecasts performed better than average for this storm, with smaller than typical track errors especially at 48 hours and beyond.