A Blizzard in Hawaii? Can the Rest of Snow Country be Far Behind?

Isn’t it interesting that Hawaii just got hit with a blizzard while Utah and Colorado are still courting the snow Gods who are starting to hear their pleas. The forecast is finally starting to change for many snow-starved resorts and ski/snowboard areas but the white stuff has been hard to come by.

Actually, snow is not all that rare in Hawaii. The peaks of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, both volcanoes, rise to almost 14,000 feet and often experience snow, according to local forecasters. What seems odd is that Hawaii has snow and popular ski destination states have been somewhat barren.

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According to Dr Brenda Ekwurzel, director of Climate Science for the Union of Concerned Scientists, the reason is something called Atmospheric Rivers, sometimes called a Pineapple Express. Wikipedia defines them this way: Atmospheric rivers consist of narrow bands of enhanced water vapor transport, typically along the boundaries between large areas of divergent surface air flow, including some frontal zones in association with extratropical cyclones that form over the oceans.^[3][4][5][6] Pineapple Express storms are the most commonly represented and recognized type of atmospheric rivers; they are given the name due to the warm water vapor plumes originating over the Hawaiian tropics that follow various paths towards western North America, arriving at latitudes from California and the Pacific Northwest to British Columbia and even southeast Alaska.^[7][8]

Hawaii recently experienced this as parts of the state experiences drenching rain (up to two feet) while Mauna Loa and Muana Kea was getting a foot of snow in some places.

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Atmospheric rivers consist of narrow bands of enhanced water vapor transport, typically along the boundaries between large areas of divergent surface air flow, including some frontal zones in association with extratropical cyclones that form over the oceans.^[3][4][5][6]Pineapple Express storms are the most commonly represented and recognized type of atmospheric rivers; they are given the name due to the warm water vapor plumes originating over the Hawaiian tropics that follow various paths towards western North America, arriving at latitudes from California and the Pacific Northwest to British Columbia and even southeast Alaska.^[7][8]

Skiing on Hawaii’s volcanoes isn’t a typical day on the slopes. Snow quality is not the fine powder many resorts offer. Without resorts or grooming machinery available, the snow is all natural, and the jagged volcanic rock can be unforgiving when someone slips and falls.

There’s also the problem of getting up the peak to ski down. Chair lifts and gondolas are not available. So adventurous skiers find their own way up the mountain. “We consider our vehicles a gondola,” retired firefighter Christopher Langan recently told the Wall Street Journal. He will either have a friend drive back down the slope to get him at the end of a run or, if both are skiing, they’ll find a ride back up to the top.