Three storms in three weeks have left abundant snow atop Hawaii’s tallest volcanic mountains.
Snow is not as rare as you might think in the Hawaiian Islands. But it never stops being beautiful.
On February 6, 2021, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired natural-color images of the “Big Island” of Hawai'i with abundant snow on its two tallest peaks. Nearly every year, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa (elevation above 13,600 feet/4200 meters) receive at least a dusting that lasts a few days. Sometimes, like this year, it is more like a winter blanket of snow.
Starting with a moderate storm on January 18, 2021, snow has fallen three times on the highlands of Hawai'i in the past three weeks. The snow cover has persisted on Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa—the two tallest volcanoes in the island chain—since January 25. Some snow also briefly crowned Haleakalā volcano (elevation 10,000 feet/3000 meters) on the island of Maui.
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Image via NASA Earth Observatory
