Heavy snowfall on Mauna Kea & Mauna Loa to 10K ft!

Winter snowstorms are not uncommon near the summits of Mauna Kea (13796 ft / 4205 m) and Mauna Loa (13680 ft / 4170 m), the enormous twin shield volcanoes which form the bulk of the Big Island of Hawaii. Mauna Kea is commonly skied since it has a road to the summit and steeper terrain to ski on various cinder cones, but Mauna Loa quite rarely since it only has a road to 11100 ft and very low angle terrain (or vertical cliffs at the large summit caldera) not as well suited to downhill skiing. Skiing on both volcanoes (plus perhaps Haleakala (10023 ft / 3055 m) on Maui, which very rarely gets snow) has long been a goal of mine, but hasn't happened yet. However, for about the last 5 years, winter snowfall has been much less than usual, even during the La Nina years of 2011 and 2012. La Nina years normally produce the heaviest snowfalls in Hawaii, and sometimes an actual snowpack several feet deep which lasts for weeks or months atop both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

Mauna Loa Observatory at 11100 ft, looking north towards Mauna Kea this morning:


So I was shocked to look at the numerous webcams on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa (see my Hawaii Mountain WebCams page) and find that snow had fallen down to about 10000 ft elevation, a very low elevation by Hawaiian standards. This unusual event was not predicted (as far as I know) in the forecasts, either from the NWS Honolulu office which typically issues a Winter Storm Warning for the Big Island summits when significant snowfall is expected, nor from the Mauna Kea Weather Center at the University of Hawaii, which issues forecasts for the observatories on the Mauna Kea summit. There is a mention of "a chance for deep convection in the area as well as short-lived periods of heavy snow" in the 8:30am HST Tuesday 28Jan2014 forecast , but that is all.

Various webcam views of the new snow at several elevations on both mountains:

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory , 5-shot panorama of Mokuaweoweo, the summit caldera of Mauna Loa at 13650 ft:


Mauna Loa Observatory at 11100 ft, looking north towards entrance road and Mauna Kea:



United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT) , looking SW near summit of Mauna Kea at 13750 ft, with flank of Mauna Loa in the distance:



University of Hawaii Webcam , looking SW near summit of Mauna Kea at 13750 ft:

[size=small]Image taken 30Jan2104 10:00 HST[/size]

Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) , looking south at the Gemini Telescope atop a cinder cone at the summit of Mauna Kea, 13700 ft:



Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) , looking north atop a cinder cone at the summit of Mauna Kea, 13700 ft:


Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) , looking north at cinder cones near the summit of Mauna Kea, 13700 ft:


Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Submillimeter Array near the summit of Mauna Kea at 13400 ft, looking south towards Mauna Loa:


Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) , located 3 miles below the summit of Mauna Kea, 12200 ft:


Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station at 9200 ft on the south side of Mauna Kea, looking south towards Mauna Loa:



Heavy snowfall started on both mountains around 10am on Tuesday January 28, and quickly accumulated at over 1" per hour by that afternoon, leaving over 1 ft of new snow by Wednesday morning, even down at the 11100 ft Mauna Loa Observatory , an atmospheric monitoring station on the north side of Mauna Loa. So the snowline was well below 11000 ft, yet the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station at 9200 ft on the south side of Mauna Kea received just some rain and no snow at all, putting the snowline above that elevation -- so call it roughly 10000 ft.

Here is an image sequence from the Mauna Loa Observatory at 11100 ft, looking north towards Mauna Kea, from Tuesday to Thursday morning:
























Additional snow fell on Wednesday and appears to be starting again Thursday afternoon. Some occasional snowfall is forecast for the next several days, perhaps a week. This forecast (www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Mauna-Kea/6day/top) attempts to forecast snowfall 6 days out, although its accuracy in situations like Mauna Kea is unknown.

Anyone else interested in a quick ski trip out to Hawaii on very short notice if the snowpack continues to deepen? I've got at least 1 other friend who's very interested. Airfare from SEA to Kona (or Hilo) is about $780 roundtrip now without advance purchase, or $900 for the nonstop flight (Alaska Airlines).

you have me longing for fresh poki, warm breezes and spring mank on mauna kea.
go get some amar
b

man.... skiing in Hawaii.... thats a bucket-list trip for me and Becky. If I didn't have a huge deadline at work next week, I'd go. Hope you can make a go of it Amar!

Only Amar would go to Hawaii to ski ;D

Wish I could join ya, it's been a longtime goal of mine to ski and surf in the same day and it doesn't get much easier than HI, but I've got too much on my plate as it is.

Really look forward to the tr, Amar.

In the two trips I made out to HI, I was off season.

Otherwise, the board would have been on board.

Now, Haleakala, on Maui, that would be a rare gem indeed!

too bad they don't get that snow in October!

In 1982 I skied off the summit of Mauna Kea, got on my bike and rode to sea level, then surfed until the sun went down.

From my ski buddy Gene in Oahu

"Wish you were here to do a circumnavigation. There's a lake up on Mauna Kea I've never seen.

It's a non-trivial undertaking.

We had storms until Tuesday.

I sent out a cattle call for partners but heard nothing. Might go anyway Sunday or Monday. All the jeep rentals there have been cleaned out!!!"

In 1982 I skied off the summit of Mauna Kea, got on my bike and rode to sea level, then surfed until the sun went down. 

you're a bum   ;D

I think it was the same year, my brother got married and a bunch of us crashed the honeymoon ~ including taking over their suite ~  one morning we woke to rumbling and shaking ~ nope it wasn't someones bed ~ earthquake ~ went up to Heleakala where there was plenty of hard snow and made trains of boot turns since no gear has on hand.  buddy bob yanked my pant to the ankles during a train ~ stayed vertical for another 30 yards, then he paid the price (since he was directly behind me)..

You sure those aren't pictures of Crystal Mountians base area!