Hurricane Iniki

Category 4 Pacific hurricane in 1992

Hurricane Iniki
Hurricane Iniki at peak intensity south of Kauaʻi on September 11
Meteorological history
FormedSeptember 5, 1992
DissipatedSeptember 13, 1992
Category 4 major hurricane
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/NWS)
Highest winds145 mph (230 km/h)
Lowest pressure938 mbar (hPa); 27.70 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities7 total
Damage$3.1 billion (1992 USD)
(Third-costliest in the East Pacific, Costliest in the Central Pacific on record)
Areas affectedHawaii (particularly Kauaʻi)
IBTrACSEdit this at Wikidata

Part of the 1992 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Iniki (/ˈnk/ ee-NEE-kee; Hawaiian: ʻiniki meaning "strong and piercing wind") was a hurricane that struck the island of Kauaʻi on September 11, 1992. It was the most powerful hurricane to strike Hawaiʻi in recorded history, and the only hurricane to directly affect the state during the 1992 Pacific hurricane season.[1] Forming on September 5, 1992, during the strong 1990–1995 El Niño, Iniki was one of eleven Central Pacific tropical cyclones during that season. It attained tropical storm status on September 8 and intensified into a hurricane the next day. After abruptly turning north, Iniki struck Kauaʻi at peak intensity; it had winds of 145 mph and reached Category 4 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale.

Winds gusted to 225 mph (362 km/h). It was the first hurricane to hit the state since Hurricane Iwa in the 1982 season, and the only known major hurricane to hit the state. Iniki dissipated on September 13, about halfway between Hawaii and Alaska.

Iniki caused around $3.1 billion (equivalent to $7 billion in 2023) in damage and seven deaths. This made Iniki, at the time, the costliest natural disaster on record in the state, as well as the third-costliest to hit the U.S. It struck just 18 days after Hurricane Andrew, the costliest tropical cyclone ever at the time, struck Florida.

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) failed to issue tropical cyclone warnings and watches 24 hours in advance. The hurricane destroyed more than 1,400 houses on Kauaʻi and severely damaged more than 5,000. Though not directly in the path of the eye, Oʻahu experienced moderate damage from wind and storm surge.

Meteorological history

Map plotting the storm's track and intensity, according to the Saffir–Simpson scale
  Tropical depression (≤38 mph, ≤62 km/h)
  Tropical storm (39–73 mph, 63–118 km/h)
  Category 1 (74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h)
  Category 2 (96–110 mph, 154–177 km/h)
  Category 3 (111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h)
  Category 4 (130–156 mph, 209–251 km/h)
  Category 5 (≥157 mph, ≥252 km/h)
  Unknown
Storm type
circle Tropical cyclone
square Subtropical cyclone
triangle Extratropical cyclone, remnant low, tropical disturbance, or monsoon depression