The Unusual Thundersnow Hits The Summits Of Hawaii's Tallest Volcanoes

A thundersnow enveloped the summits of Hawaii's tallest volcanoes, the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, on Sunday and Monday. There was also heavy snow that fell in the said areas of the Big Island of Hawaii.

The National Weather Service in Honolulu said that the Mauna Kea park rangers reported a significant snowfall with continuous thunder and lightning over the summits of the volcanoes. Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano, in which its peak is the highest point in Hawaii. It is about 4,207 meters (13,802 feet) above sea level. Mauna Kea is about a million years old.

Jeff Haby, a meteorologist, explained that upward motion of air helps produce thunderstorms. On the other hand, it is rare to have convection within a winter storm. He further said that thunder and lightning are much more common in warm-season thunderstorms.

The Weather Channel said that the volcanic summits of Hawaii's Big Island have seen their fair share of snow this December. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa experienced heavy snow in the first week of December. On the other hand, even though it was snowing at the summits of these volcanoes, the temperatures are mild throughout the rest of Hawaii this week. Meanwhile, in Honolulu, temperatures will be high in the 80s, according to USA Today.

The weather service also stated that the snow on the summits of the mountains of Hawaii is not uncommon in the colder months because they are almost 14,000 feet high. Meanwhile, Matthew Foster, a staff meteorologist with the weather service in Honolulu, said that if there are enough clouds to support ice crystals and cold temperatures at the summit level, there will be snowfall.

Thundersnow also referred to as winter thunderstorm is a rare kind of thunderstorm with snow falling instead of rain. It usually falls in the areas of strong upward motion within the cold sector of an extratropical cyclone. In thundersnow, the graupel or hail also falls.