The summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa were closed Wednesday after they received a fresh blanket of snow that resulted in whiteout conditions. ADVERTISING The summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa were closed Wednesday after they received a
The summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa were closed Wednesday after they received a fresh blanket of snow that resulted in whiteout conditions.
A statement posted on the Mauna Kea Weather Center website Wednesday afternoon said Mauna Kea Access Road was closed starting at the Visitor Information Station because of “snow and ice, and in some areas black ice, covering the summit roadways with thick fog, possible convection, below freezing temperatures, a forecast of heavy snows and blizzard conditions.”
The National Weather Service upgraded a winter storm warning to a blizzard warning for the summits. The warning remains in effect through 6 a.m. today.
The Mauna Loa summit also was closed Wednesday because of the blizzard warning, according to information posted on the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park website.
“All we know is significant snowfall is causing the road closure,” said Tom Birchard, a meteorologist at the NWS in Honolulu, adding accumulation was easily “several inches” and wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour were reported at high elevations.
Summit temperature hovered at about 29 degrees late Wednesday afternoon, with reported wind speeds of about 40 mph.
Earlier in the week, the NWS predicted potential flash flood conditions, summit snow and lightning statewide because of a strong upper level disturbance in the atmosphere.
The rain gauge at Hilo International Airport registered 1.78 inches of rain between Monday and Wednesday morning. Mountain View recorded 2.43 inches in that time and the Saddle Road Quarry 3.94 inches.
Most leeward sites recorded little to no rain.
Birchard said the island’s lower elevations were mostly spared the severe weather originally forecast, though there was a chance conditions could worsen. A flash flood watch remains in effect for Hawaii Island through 6 a.m. today.
“There hasn’t been a whole lot of action down low at the surface on the Big Island. It’s been a lot of mid- and high-level moisture,” he said.
Conditions should begin to improve today, Birchard said, and by Friday the island should see “a trend toward much more settled weather.”
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
