Winter weather warning lifted for Hawaii summit

Photo shows the sunset on Maunakea from the Subaru Cat Walk

(BIVN) — It was a picturesque sunset at the summit of Maunakea Monday evening as the sky began to clear and the snow that had fallen the day before had not yet completely melted.

The view was captured by several webcams at the observatory high on the mountain on the Hawaiian island.

The winter weather advisory for the peaks of Maunakea and Mauna Loa has been discontinued by the National Weather Service, although the flood advisory for the entire Big Island has been extended until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

A high low near the Hawaiian Islands “will maintain wet and unstable conditions that could lead to locally heavy rainfall,” forecasters said.

From the National Weather Service on Monday evening:

A mid- to upper-level low in the southwest part of the state will bring some wet conditions and the possibility of heavy showers tonight. The weakening low aloft is not creating much pressure, but with rainfall still at an impressive 1.6 to 2 inches, isolated heavy showers and a few thunderstorms have moved over and around the islands today, with many windward locations receiving 0.5 to 1.5 inches measure of precipitation. As the low aloft will be very slow to fill, persistent showers are expected this evening, some of which will be heavy, with the possibility of a thunderstorm. With soils almost saturated from the rains of the last few days, it won't take much to cause flooding problems in windward areas. We have therefore decided to maintain flood monitoring. However, there is evidence that drier air is moving in from the east, and with snowfall on the Big Island's high peaks having slowed significantly, the winter weather advisory has been canceled.

Sunset webcam image on Maunakea, courtesy of the Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope

The Mauna Kea Access Road, previously closed due to snow and ice, is now open to the public.