Is it a miracle? Global warning gone awry?
Don’t worry, America’s tropical paradise remains as warm as ever, but the peaks of the Big Island of Hawaii are becoming a winter wonderland, according to the Weather Channel.
Winter Storm Warning for Hawaii !20″-30″ of SNOW for higher elevations pic.twitter.com/wqJKB7SLnO
— Damon Lane (@KOCOdamonlane) December 2, 2016
There is currently a winter storm warning for the Big Island’s volcanic peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The warning calls for 20 to 30 inches of snow above 11,000 feet through Saturday, with south winds from 10 to 20 mph. A section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was reportedly closed Thursday because of the weather.
Snow! Summit road is closed due to falling snow and icy conditions. pic.twitter.com/v9q0rishYU
— CFHT (@CFHTelescope) December 1, 2016
Hawaiians on the Big Island can catch a view of the snowy peaks from their homes, but will never see a dusting anywhere close to where they live.
“The snow level almost never gets below 9,000 feet in Hawaii during the winter, but since these mountains are taller than 13,600 feet, 13,700 feet and 10,000 feet, respectively, they get dusted with snow a few times a year,” Ken Rubin, an assistant professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Hawaii told the Weather Channel. “It rarely stays on the ground for more than a few days though.” According to Rubin, the snow, however, is a yearly occurrence for summits of the three tallest volcanoes (Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea and Haleakala). In 2015, it even snowed on the summits in July.
#Snow in #Hawaii. It’s happening now and it’s not that weird. https://t.co/iG79ahXflr pic.twitter.com/64FynERmg6
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) December 2, 2016
Snow on Mauna Kea (White Mountain) today …
Many don’t know that we get snow in Hawaii; all be it on our 13,500 ft mountain pic.twitter.com/5AviyJV8iA
— Villi Wilson (@Conservative_VW) December 2, 2016
