Cold airmass brings brisk temperatures across Hawaii

A cold airmass swept over the islands following Wednesday’s blustery storm, prompting nighttime temperatures to drop into the 50s in some areas.

“I haven’t been that cold in a long time,” said Jason Shitanishi, chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Honolulu Farm Service Agency, recalling the chill of early Thursday morning.

National Weather Service forecasters said the relatively frosty weather is expected to linger through the weekend before another frontal system comes our way early next week.

Heavy rain and gusty wind battered the islands Wednesday, leaving toppled trees, flooded streets and power outages in communities across the state. Brown-water advisories continued Thursday for nearshore waters at Kahana Bay and Punaluu Beach Park and from Ulehawa to Nanaikapono Beach on Oahu.

The winter storm not only left more snow atop Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, but also on Maui’s 10,000-foot Haleakala, a much rarer occurrence.

Haleakala National Park’s summit district was closed Wednesday through Thursday morning, and reservations scheduled for sunrise Thursday were canceled, officials said.

The summit was reopened by 11:30 a.m. Thursday, and people flocked to the snow.

“I saw a father and (teen) daughter from Wailuku, and it was cute because she was experiencing snow for the first time,” said Jin Prugsawan, the park’s chief of interpretation, education and volunteers. “She said, ‘It really crunches,’ and it’s true — it does crunch.”

By late afternoon there was relatively little snow at the summit, and mostly it was sporadic ice and melting snow above 9,000 feet, Prugsawan said.

With all roads now open at the summit, motorists should drive cautiously because there may yet be some icy spots on roads, she said.

Weather officials say cool and generally dry conditions will prevail today and through the weekend. Temperatures will range from 3 to 8 degrees lower than normal, with daytime highs in the mid-70s and some overnight lows dropping into the upper 50s.

“It will be pretty good sweater and blanket weather,” said Will Ahue, forecaster in the National Weather Service’s Honolulu office. “It will be sunny during the day but cool.”

Another front will affect the islands early next week. Forecasters said that as this system approaches on Monday, winds will shift out of the south and gradually increase. Models remain mixed, they said, but the front could hit Kauai on Monday evening and clear the Big Island as soon as Tuesday afternoon.

“Next week will be on the cool side but probably not as cool as this weekend. But that can always change,” Ahue said.