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NOAA MAUNA LOA OBSERVATORY
Strong winds, snow and freezing fog prompted a blizzard warning for Big Island summits until Thursday night.
Winter weather on Hawaii summits is bringing blowing snow and freezing fog to Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and a rare snowfall to Haleakala on Maui.
A blizzard warning remains in effect for summits above 11,000 feet on the Big Island until 6 p.m.
Forecasters said the strong winds, snow and freezing fog are creating whiteout conditions at the summit and an additional 2 to 4 inches of snow may fall Thursday.
The warning remains in effect until 6 p.m.
The weather service received reports that Haleakala got a dusting of snow Wednesday between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. and between 11 a.m. and 2:25 p.m. Snow also fell on the summit on March 4.
"It doesn’t snow on Haleakala every year, but it happens," said Derek Wroe, a meteorologist with the Honolulu office of the National Weather Service.
The snow did not last overnight.
The summit of Haleakala is under a wind advisory Thursday because of west winds of 30 to 50 mph with gusts over 65 mph.
Elsewhere, cloudy skies over the state are bringing rain to the Big Island and Maui County and scattered showers to other islands.
The forecast for Honolulu and south shores calls for breezy and cool northwest winds of 15 to 20 mph and clearing skies Thursday.
Highs should be between 73 and 80 mph and lows Thursday night are expected to be between 54 and 64 degrees.
"The winds will be a bit stronger than we’ve seen, but it’s still going to be rather cool," Wroe said.
Northeast tradewinds should return by Saturday.
