What began as a calm afternoon on June 4 turned into a chaotic scene when a sudden windstorm, described by staff as a microburst, swept through Kaʻanapali Beach in front of the Westin Kaʻanapali Ocean Resort Villas.

Kim Epp and her children were enjoying the beach when the skies shifted and a mini tornado-like gust tore through the loungers and umbrellas. Despite being secured into the sand, two umbrellas were ripped from the ground and launched over the water, along with shoes, clothing, and even a few startled kids from their inner tubes.

The swirling wind eventually formed a waterspout, drawing gasps from beachgoers as one umbrella spiraled higher and higher, raising fears about where it might land.

Thankfully, no injuries were reported, and after the storm passed, families were able to retrieve their belongings from the water.

On June 4,2025 my kids and I were on Kaanapali Beach in front of the Westin kaanapali Ocean Resort and Villas. It had been a fairly calm day. All of a sudden this wind storm came through. There was what looked like a mini tornado, the staff called it a micro burst, that started behind us and ripped through the loungers and umbrellas that the Westin staff had set up on the beach. This “tornado” pulled up 2 umbrellas, that had been secured into the ground by the Westin staff, and took them out over the water. It also took shoes, clothes, and knocked a couple of kids out of their inner tubes. The “tornado” then became a water spout over the water. I got the end of this in my video. People had run out of the water and called their kids out of the water. It was very frightening. The one umbrella just kept going higher and higher. The was a fear in the beginning of where it would land and if it would hurt someone. Luckily no one was hurt. Everyone got their things back out of the water after it passed.