Hawaii sees first snowfall of the season

Snow blanketed Hawaii’s highest peak this week, briefly transforming Mauna Kea’s summit into a winter wonderland with about 2 inches (5 centimeters) of fresh powder.

While Hawaii is typically celebrated for its warm beaches and lush rainforests, snowfall at Mauna Kea’s high elevations isn’t uncommon during the winter months when wetter conditions prevail, News.Az reports, citing US media.

The summit is so high — it sits 13,803 feet (4,207 meters) above sea level — that temperatures there can drop below freezing year-round, creating the potential for snow during any month.

This week, an upper level disturbance brought colder temperatures as moisture came in from the east and moved over the islands Sunday through Monday, said Maureen Ballard, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

“Combination of cold temperatures and moisture equals snow when it’s below freezing,” Ballard said.

Webcams mounted on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope showed the ground covered in white shortly after sunrise on Monday. Two days later, the cameras showed the snow was gone.

Nobody lives on Mauna Kea's summit, which is sacred to many Native Hawaiians. Centuries-old stories say Mauna Kea is the first-born son of the sky father and earth mother.

The limited light pollution and dry atmosphere at the mountain top also make it one of the world's best places to observe the night sky. Astronomers have built about a dozen telescopes at the summit, leading to Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and some of the first images of planets outside our solar system.

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