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1 year ago
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The peaks of Hawaii's highest mountains were dusted with snow on Friday, as a Kona weather system which drenched the lower lands coated the top with snow.
Snow was recorded on the top of Big Island's highest mountains, Manua Kea and Manua Loa, which both tower almost 14,000 ft above sea level.
Around five inches of snow was recorded on Friday.
Snow is not uncommon on Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano, or Mauna Loa, an active one.
In 2016, approximately two feet of snow fell on Manua Kea.
The peaks of Hawaii's Big Island were coated with snow on Friday
NASA's telescope is seen surrounded by snow on Friday morning, with around five inches registered
The snow was brought by a Kona - a weather system of low pressure, which emerges in mid latitudes and heads north, drenching Hawaii.
As much as 10 inches fell on Thursday on the southern and eastern side of the Big Island, with a few pockets that may have approached 15 inches or more.
The National Weather Service in Honolulu issued four flash flood warnings, including two for the Big Island.
They reported rainfall rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour in downpours that were moving repeatedly over the same areas - a phenomenon known as 'training'.
At higher altitudes, the rain became snow: Weather balloon data suggests the freezing level was at about 8,500 feet Wednesday night into early Thursday, rising to around 15,400 feet Thursday afternoon.
Snow is seen piled up around the NASA facility on Friday. Heavy rainfall was registered at lower altitudes
A Kona Low has been hammering Hawaii over the last 24 hours, dropping enormous amounts of rain and even snow on the high peaks.
Mauna Kea has seen a half a foot of snow, and nearly 20 inches of rain fell this morning just southeast of Hilo on the Big Island. pic.twitter.com/rgnuw5uJ7U
The white blanket currently covering the peaks will only last a day or two, according to meteorologists.
Snow has been recorded in other parts of Hawaii, but it far less common.
Haleakala, a volcanic mountain on Maui, has also been known to receive snow, but it only reached 10,000 feet so is less likely to see snow.
The rainfall is extremely welcome: Approximately 94 percent of the state is facing some type of drought, according to the latest data.
About 12 percent of Hawaii is under an extreme drought - a devastating fact that helped spur the Lahaina wildfires in August, the deadliest in the United States in more than a century.
At least 100 people died, and thousands of homes were destroyed.
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