It was white and sweet, and it didn’t last long.
An inch and a half to 2 inches of snow fell early Friday morning on the island’s highest peak, prompting the closure of the Mauna Kea Access Road.
Webcams at the Mauna Kea summit showed the blanketing of snow at the summit. The Mauna Kea Access Road was closed shortly before 6 a.m. because of icy road conditions, but reopened in the afternoon as the white stuff rapidly melted away.
The Mauna Kea Weather Center said a ranger reported mixed rain and snow and fog Friday morning, as well as moderate winds.
While summertime snow on the summit isn’t common, the flurries can visit any month of the year, MKWC meteorologist Ryan Lyman said.
In this case, a trough moving over the island from east to west brought thunderstorms in the predawn hours Friday morning, which shot moisture up to the summit level, said Maureen Ballard, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Honolulu. Summit temperatures were right around freezing when the moisture moved in.
The Mauna Kea road conditions report noted snow around 4:30 a.m., which coincided with radar showing thunderstorms originating in the Puna District, Ballard said.
“It can happen, even in July,” she said.
But the chance of the factors converging again is small, Ballard said. The trough was moving off the island Friday, and with it the potential for thunderstorms.
“It’s not out of the realm of possibility that something more could happen at the summit, but temperatures are rising,” Ballard said.
The snow was hampering telescope operations by creating high humidity, and domes were closed to prevent moisture from getting on mirrors.
