Snows here every year.
Posted on 01/24/2006 7:44:33 AM PST by OB1kNOb
Snowstorm Closes Hawaii Volcano To Tourists
Rare Event Causes Concern, Surprise
POSTED: 6:18 pm EST January 23, 2006
UPDATED: 6:44 pm EST January 23, 2006
MAUNA KEA, Hawaii -- Officials closed the summit of Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano to the public after a snowstorm shut down access for the first time this winter season.
Clouds blanketed Hawaii's tallest peak this weekend. A blanket of snow forced everyone to evacuate, including park rangers.
(Check out the snow from Honolulu TV station KITV's Web cam on Mauna Kea)
"We've got to make sure and keep everybody healthy and safe on the summit. So, I'm closing it," Mauna Kea ranger Kimo Pihana said.
The heavy snowfall was a rare sight, even for those who are up there almost every day.
"The snow began to accumulate very quickly and we had to evacuate to prevent being trapped on the summit," telescope operator Paul Sears said.
A California family was at the summit when the snow started falling, before the road was shut down.
"Did you ever think you'd see snow in Hawaii?" a reporter asked.
"Wasn't really expecting to see snow in Hawaii," said Bob Nyman.
"So it's a nice treat on your vacation?" the reporter asked.
"Oh absolutely. It was great," Nyman said.
For visitors who didn't have timing on their side, the trek ended at the 9,000-foot mark where the road was closed.
It's all going to be blamed on Bush, Carl Rove, and Globaal Warming. The ol' boogeyman hat trick.
Global Warming...just like on Mars... blame Bush/Rove/Cheney/Haliburton
Ski Hawaii!
I've driven by Mount Kilimanjaro,which sits pretty much on the equator and the peak was snow covered.It was pretty impressive.
It snows all the time on Mauna Kea and also on Mauna Loa. Maybe something about this particular bunch of snow makes it newsworthy?
I don't think this is very unusual.
http://www.summitpost.org/mountains/photo_link.pl?photo_id=141671&object_id=798&type=mountain&mountain_id=798&route_id=
I lived on the Big Island for two years and it snowed both years on top of both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. I remember taking my skis and hiking to the summit of Mauna Kea (No lifts) and skiing some short runs. An hour later surfing at the beach. This is not a new thing for Hawaii.
Perhaps, this is why it was newsworthy.
Okay.
There just seem to be articles like this one that come up every so often that have an "OMG! It's snowing in Hawaii!" flavor to them. If you look at the interview at the end of this article, this is another one of those.
Still interesting, thanks for posting it.
Brrrr ....
Actually snowboarding is popular there.
Actually there is a place you can ski in Hawaii. It is kind of neat because you can see out over the sunny beach as you ski down the hill.
"It's not a Big Island, it's a Small Continent!"
LOL -- ok -- this global warming stuff has to STOP!!
Until I moved to Montana, Hawaii, specifically PTA, was the coldest place I ever spent the night outside.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.