Weatherboy

Weatherboy Weather News, Maps, RADAR, Satellite, and Forecasts.

Hawaii Digs Out of Blizzard; First View from Mauna Kea, Ground Zero of Snowstorm

by -

Big Island residents Reed from Kona, dressed as Santa, and Carrie from Hilo, shovel snow into a cooler near the summit of Mauna Kea. They are bringing snow to their friends near the beach in Kona to have a snowball fight with. Image: Weatherboy
Big Island residents Reed from Kona, dressed as Santa, and Carrie from Hilo, shovel snow into a cooler near the summit of Mauna Kea. They are planning to have a snowball fight with friends near the beach with their collected snow. Image: Weatherboy



Road crews have been busy this week, plowing and repairing roads impacted by the blizzard which struck Hawaii last weekend. Today was the first day Mauna Kea was open, giving residents and tourists alike the chance to get the first view of the aftermath of the big winter storm.

Identified only as Reed and as Carrie, these two people from the Big Island of Hawaii drove up to the summit of Mauna Kea once roads were plowed and open today to load up a cooler with snow. Their plan is to bring it to a friend's house in Kona to have a snowball fight. Image: Weatherboy
Identified only as Reed and as Carrie, these two people from the Big Island of Hawaii drove up to the summit of Mauna Kea once roads were plowed and open today to load up a cooler with snow. Their plan is to bring it to a friend’s house in Kona to have a snowball fight. Image: Weatherboy

While most people don’t associate the tropical paradise Hawaii is known for with snow, they’re surprised to learn that it does snow in the winter due to the elevation of these volcanic peaks. Mauna Kea is the highest of the bunch at 13,803 feet. Maui’s Haleakala is much lower at 10,023 feet. Because of that difference, Hawaii Island will see snow more frequently than the lower Maui Island. Just one storm in January 2020 dropped 2-3 feet of snow on Hawaii Island and created snow drifts that were far deeper. Another storm this past January brought snowboarders and skiers out to the mountain by the dozens.



Roads are finally clear and open today, December 9, after a blizzard impacted the Big Island of Hawaii bringing heavy snow and extremely strong winds to the Big Island of Hawaii. Image: Weatherboy
Roads are finally clear and open today, December 9, after a blizzard impacted the Big Island of Hawaii bringing heavy snow and extremely strong winds to the Big Island of Hawaii. Image: Weatherboy

Beginning last Friday, the Aloha State was impacted by  a significant storm system known locally as a “Kona Low”. The storm  moved throughout the entire state, bringing heavy rains, blizzard conditions and heavy snow, 100-125+ mph winds, and extreme surf to the  Big Island of Hawaii. Significant rains and winds impacted the other islands too, although only the Big Island saw significant accumulations of snow.

The Kona Low gets its name from the change in wind direction that occurs when such a storm moves over the Hawaii Islands. Hawaii is dominated by the trade winds that typically blow in from the northeast. However, the counter-clockwise flow around a Kona low located west of Hawaii results in southwesterly winds over the islands, which is typically the leeward or “Kona” side. Kona Lows are most common between October and April. These type of storms draw abundant moisture up from the warm tropical waters that surround Hawaii; when this moist flow interacts with the steep topography of the islands which helps to wring-out moisture, extremely heavy precipitation can fall. Because the wind flow around a Kona Low is atypical, flooding rains occur in places that may not ordinarily flood in tropical downpours that impact the islands from time to time. As this moisture taps into high elevation cold, it will often fall as exceptionally heavy snow on the higher peaks of Hawaii and Maui islands.


With the roads to the blizzard’s ground zero opened today, December 9, many people flocked to the snowy summit to take in the view, enjoy snowboarding or skiing, or take some snow home with them.

Reed from Kona, who handles security for private groups, and Carrie from Hilo, pursuing a Masters in Education with Victoria University in New Zealand, came to Mauna Kea today to bring back snow to the coast. “Whenever the snow gets thick to play in and when the roads are safe, you’ll find us here,” said Reed. He and Carrie were busy shoveling the fresh snow into a large cooler near the summit of Mauna Kea where snow drifts several feet deep were. “We’re packing up this snow and we’re going to go visit friends that couldn’t be here. We’re going to ambush them with snowballs,” Reed explained. Carrie added they also planned to construct a giant snowman for the occasion. Reed said the snow is a great excuse for getting out of the house and doing something.

Fortunately, neither Reed nor Carrie were impacted by the Kona Low at their respective homes. Neither lost power, experienced flooding, or saw wind damage –even though all of that was present throughout the island from the Kona Low. 


 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Weatherboy (@weatherboyweather)

Also enjoying themselves on the slopes today were Quinn Weaver from Kalapana and Simon Spruell from Kurtistown. Both came to the snow-covered landscape with their snowboards, looking forward to getting a good 10 or so runs in during the day before the sun sets. Unlike developed ski resorts, there are no facilities of any kind here for winter sports enthusiasts. Not only are there no public restrooms, but there’s no ski lift or tow rope available to bring people back to the summit for a run. As such, skiers and snowboarders need to hike back up each time they glide down the snowy slopes or hope the kindness of a stranger driving by will give them a lift back up to the summits.

 

While the landscape was covered with snow, the warm Hawaii sun moderated the air temperature quite well today. At about 5 feet above the surface, the air temperature was in the upper 50’s. And without any wind today, there were no windchill factors to contend with.


The summit of Mauna Kea is dotted with visitors who were taking advantage of the pleasant winter weather to enjoy the highest peak and slope in all of Hawaii. Image: Weatherboy
The summit of Mauna Kea is dotted with visitors who were taking advantage of the pleasant winter weather to enjoy the highest peak and slope in all of Hawaii. Image: Weatherboy

 

With relatively mild temperatures and no wind, many hiked up to the true summit of Mauna Kea. The peak, void of any roads or telescopes, was dotted with visitors today who would walk up and slide or sled back down.

 

The snow plows cleared the roads nicely, blowing deep snow and drifts off of the pavement here at Mauna Kea where roads finally opened today after the weekend blizzard in Hawaii. Image: Weatherboy
The snow plows cleared the roads nicely, blowing deep snow and drifts off of the pavement here at Mauna Kea where roads finally opened today after the weekend blizzard in Hawaii. Image: Weatherboy

 

 

Fire and ice! The puff of clouds/smoke in the very middle of this picture is actually steam and smoke rising from the ongoing volcanic eruption at Kilauea. The volcano can be viewed from the summit of Mauna Kea here today. Image: Weatherboy
Fire and ice! The puff of clouds/smoke in the very middle of this picture is actually steam and smoke rising from the ongoing volcanic eruption at Kilauea. The volcano can be viewed from the summit of Mauna Kea here today. Image: Weatherboy

 

 

The view south towards Kona shows clouds locked-in below the peak of Mauna Loa as far as the eye can see. In the foreground, snow-covered slopes blend in with the nearby white clouds. Image: Weatherboy
The view south towards Kona shows clouds locked-in below the peak of Mauna Loa as far as the eye can see. In the foreground, snow-covered slopes blend in with the nearby white clouds. Image: Weatherboy

 

Radio telescopes near the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii aim to the sky while the top of nearby Haleakala, Maui's tallest summit, can be seen in the background from this Big Island vantage point. Image: Weatherboy
Radio telescopes near the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii aim to the sky while the top of nearby Haleakala, Maui’s tallest summit, can be seen in the background from this Big Island vantage point. Image: Weatherboy

 

Snowboarder Quinn Weaver from Kalapana on Hawaii Island's east coast, surveys the slopes of Mauna Kea before gliding down the snow-covered volcanic landscape on his snowboard. Image: Weatherboy
Snowboarder Quinn Weaver from Kalapana on Hawaii Island’s east coast, surveys the slopes of Mauna Kea before gliding down the snow-covered volcanic landscape on his snowboard. Image: Weatherboy




The roads up and down Mauna Kea are dotted with local residents loading up their trucks with snow to bring to their warmer neighborhoods closer to the coast for wintertime fun. Image: Weatherboy
The roads up and down Mauna Kea after the December 2021 Blizzard are dotted with local residents loading up their trucks with snow to bring to their warmer neighborhoods closer to the coast for wintertime fun. Image: Weatherboy

 

 

Living up to its name: this is the view out onto the Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area Reserve. The nearby hill, the rocky cinder cone called Puʻu Pōhaku contains a rare example of permafrost in the tropics. Image: Weatherboy
Living up to its name: this is the view out onto the Mauna Kea Ice Age Natural Area Reserve. The nearby hill, the rocky cinder cone called Puʻu Pōhaku contains a rare example of permafrost in the tropics. Image: Weatherboy

 

The snow will gradually melt away in the coming days with no new significant snow expected in Hawaii over the next several days.