Haleakala summit on Maui blanketed with snow

Snow still lingers atop Hale­akala National Park, which remained closed Monday.

The snow fell on Haleakala over the weekend, and the summit remains impassable due to snowdrifts and ice on the road, according to National Park Serv­ice spokeswoman Nancy Stimson, as well as fallen trees and rocks, leading to extremely hazardous conditions. In addition, there are power outages throughout the summit district.

People are encouraged to enjoy the view from down-country and not try to enter the park, NPS said, adding that rangers would enforce the closure at the summit district entrance at the 6,500-foot elevation level.

State officials, meanwhile, said it was perhaps the first time snow had fallen in a state park, and at such a low elevation.

“Polipoli State Park on Maui is blanketed with snow,” said the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of State Parks in a Facebook post Sunday. “It could also be the lowest elevation snow ever recorded in the state. Poli­poli is at 6,200 feet elevation.”

At least 6 inches to a foot of snow fell at Haleakala’s summit Saturday night into Sunday, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Foster. The NWS does not have a station posted at the summit to verify the amount of snow, but a park ranger reported seeing 4-foot drifts, he said.

Powerful gusts wreaked havoc across the state Sunday, resulting in blown roofs, downed trees and power outages. High surf on the north and west sides of Oahu caused water to wash over roads, and a 27-foot sailboat to break free from its mooring at Lahaina Small Boat Harbor and wash onto rocks on Front Street.

Meanwhile, winds were clocked at 191 mph on top of Mauna Kea at 4:40 p.m. Sunday, said Foster. Strong wind, surf and rain brought by the low-pressure system is expected to lift northeast and away from the state over the next couple of days, according to weather officials.

Winds will diminish across the island chain, but bands of moisture will remain, bringing showers to windward areas and a few leeward locales. More rain is on the way late today through Wednesday, but breezy trades will return, bringing the shower patterns back to normal into the weekend.

As of Monday afternoon a high-surf warning remained in effect for the north- and west-facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu and Molokai, and for the north-facing shores of Maui and the Big Island, through 6 a.m. today.

Surf was expected to reach 20 to 25 feet Monday night along the north- and west- facing shores of Niihau and Kauai, and the north-­facing shores of Oahu, Molokai and Maui. Surf was expected to reach 12 to 20 feet Monday night along west-facing shores of Oahu and Molokai.

A high-wind warning also remained in effect for Big Island summits, with west winds of 40 to 60 mph, and higher gusts, through 6 p.m. today. Travel to the summits should be delayed until winds subside, weather officials said.

“Winter’s not over yet,” said Foster on Monday. “But the immediate threat from this strong low-pressure system is about over. We may still get some surf on the north shores of Big Island and Maui … but for the most part, winds, snowfall and surf are down from their peak yesterday.”