Shocking snowfall in Hawaii turns mountains into a winter wonderland

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There was shock in Hawaii this week when a fall fell on the state's highest peak, turning the mountain peak into a winter wonderland.

The summit area of ​​Mauna Kea on the Big Island was covered in about two inches of white powder.

Hawaii is best known to many for its warm weather, beaches and rainforests. However, it is not uncommon for snow to fall in the higher elevations of Mauna Kea during the wetter winter months.

The peak is so high – 13,803 feet (4,207 meters) above sea level – that temperatures there can drop below freezing year-round, which can result in snowfall every month.

This week, an upper-level disturbance brought colder temperatures as moisture moved in from the east and moved across the islands Sunday into Monday, said Maureen Ballard, a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

“The combination of cold temperatures and humidity means snow if it is below freezing,” Ballard said.

Webcams mounted on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope showed the ground covered in white shortly after sunrise on Monday. Two days later, cameras showed that the snow had disappeared.

No one lives on the summit of Mauna Kea, which is sacred to many of Hawaii's native people. Centuries-old stories say that Mauna Kea is the firstborn son of the Sky Father and the Earth Mother.

The mountaintop's low light pollution and dry atmosphere also make it one of the world's best places for night sky and stargazing. Astronomers have built about a dozen telescopes at the summit, resulting in Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and some of the first images of planets outside our solar system.

This week, Mount Fuji in Japan has not seen any snow on its slopes this year, in what meteorologists say is a record.

The active volcano west of Tokyo is the country's highest peak at 3,776m and usually sees its first snow of the year in early October.

Since records began 130 years ago, this is the last day of the year that there was no snow on the mountain. The volcano last erupted about 300 years ago.