Hikers in Hawaii were warned about encountering sudden freezing rain as a severe winter storm brought cold temperatures to Haleakalā overnight on Thursday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Honolulu issued a winter weather warning for the summit and the upper slopes of the Haleakalā volcano in Maui on Thursday. The severe weather will continue until 8 a.m. Friday morning local time.
Winter weather at Haleakalā was so severe that the Summit District of Haleakalā National Park closed on Friday, citing hazardous conditions. The park also canceled all of its sunrise reservations for the day, according to a report by National Parks Traveler. Meanwhile, reservations for the Hosmer Grove Campground were canceled for Thursday. Reservations, however, remained opened for Haleakalā crater, but the summit district warned backpackers to prepare for severe winter weather conditions and freezing rain.
NWS meteorologist Joseph Clark told Newsweek on Friday that typically, Haleakalā's summit maintains temperatures above freezing, even in the winter months. However, freezing weather reached the volcano's summit at 10,000 feet, and up to three tenths of an inch of ice was predicted to form as rain fell on the volcano's upper slopes. Winds gusting as high as 60 miles per hour also were expected.
"A fast-moving cold front will bring freezing rain to the Summit and upper slopes of Haleakala tonight and early Friday morning," the NWS's Thursday warning said, adding that "significant icing was expected."
The NWS said that "the front will move quickly east of Maui by Friday afternoon, and the chance for rainfall will diminish as temperatures gradually warm."
The agency also urged people to postpone any travel plans to the Haleakalā summit given the severe, freezing conditions.
"A Winter Storm Warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet, and ice are expected or occurring. Strong winds are also possible," the warning said. "This will make travel very hazardous or impossible."
Snow and winter weather conditions are not uncommon at Hawaii's high-altitude volcanos, which can reach 14,000 feet high. Earlier this season, 6 inches of snow fell at the peak of Mauna Kea, a volcano on the Big Island. However, the conditions are less common at Haleakalā, which is shorter than Mauna Kea.
"[Winter weather] is not as common as it is on the higher slopes of the Big Island," Clark told Newsweek. "It's less common to get winter weather [at Haleakalā], but it does happen."
The severe weather comes as similar winter weather alerts were issued for every single U.S. state on Friday morning. A deadly winter storm gripped the nation on Friday and will be followed by frigid temperatures, with wind chill as cold as 70 degrees below zero in some northern states as an arctic blast follows the storm.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
