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Enjoy the view, snow on summits may last until Sunday

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TIM WRIGHT / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Snow is seen at the top of Mauna Kea from the King Kamehameha statue in Hilo.
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COURTESY UH HILO
People can be seen playing in the snow at the summit of Mauna Kea near the UH Hilo Telescope.
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COURTESY W.M. KECK OBSERVATORY
Up to a foot of snow fell on Mauna Kea during stormy weather this week.
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COURTESY NASA INFRARED TELESCOPE FACILITY
This image from the NASA Infrared Telescope on Mauna Kea shows snow on Mauna Loa in the distance.
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COURTESY CANADA FRANCE HAWAII TELESCOPE
Snow remains on the ground as temperatures overnight were below freezing on the summit of Mauna Kea.
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TIM WRIGHT / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Snow can be seen today on top of Mauna Kea.
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COURTESY NOAA MAUNA LOA OBSERVATORY
This picture taken from the NOAA observatory on Mauna Loa shows snow on the ground at the summit and Mauna Kea in the distance.

With temperatures below freezing at night, the snow on the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa may stick around through the weekend.

But, depending on how sunny and warm it gets during the day, the snow will slowly melt away.

The road to the summit of Mauna Kea reoopened just after 11 a.m. this morning after road crews cleared the road of snow and ice. 

Residents and visitors didn’t waste any time getting up to the summit to play in the snow. People could be seen sledding in webcamera images from the summit.

A new cold front is moving down the island chain this weekend, but the system is not expected to bring much rain to the Big Island.

The storm may bring a little snow, but nothing significant, said Chris Jacobson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Several days of storm weather this week dropped up to a foot of snow on the summit, Jacobson said. The snow level began at about 10,000 feet.

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