Let it Snow...

February 01, 2008 @ 12:29 am- from Maui, Hawaii

I live on Maui in Hawaii and well, it's happened! Pigs learned to fly and hell is about to freeze over. So much for global warming, eh?

This is a picture from across the street looking up to Haleakala and there's been snow on the mountain for the last few days. It's been unseasonably cold here on Maui for the last few days with some wicked rainy weather to go along with it. According to the weather service it's been the second coldest winter on record so far with a lot of non-sunny days and cold North winds blowing.

It's downright cold at mid-50's. I had to close the doors and put on a t-shirt to sleep dang it. <g>

Since I've been here since 1999 I've only seen one other occasion when there was snow on Haleakala, but it wasn't quite as much and it didn't stick around. Authorities closed the park up top immediately due to 'dangerous conditions'. Uh huh... I'm glad somebody's watching out for us. No sense getting out the snowboard though - 1 inch of top snow over razor sharp lava rock would result in a very short and probably painful ride...

Mauna Loa on the Big Island is a bit taller at 13,600 feet and frequently is snow covered in the winter, but it's extremely rare for Haleakala at about 10,000 feet to get snow over here. Brrr...

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re: Let it Snow...
by Josh Stodola February 01, 2008 @ 7:07 am

>> It's downright cold at mid-50's <<

You spoiled, spoiled man! I live in Nebraska, and it was 20 degrees below zero the other day (with the wind chill), and I still walked to work! Now that is effin' cold.

re: Let it Snow...
by Doug Hennig February 01, 2008 @ 8:08 am

I'm with Josh. A couple of days ago, we were in the mid-50s too, only it was MINUS 50 (with the wind chill; -32 without). No sympathy here, dude.

re: Let it Snow...
by Eber Irigoyen February 01, 2008 @ 9:16 am

mid-50s cold, that's funny... we have been under snow since October

global warming is one thing, but what we are seeing mostly is "global change"

re: Let it Snow...
by Doug Dodge February 01, 2008 @ 12:05 pm

Well, after the other comments I am beginning to feel like I'm in the middle of a tropical heatwave! <g> It's only been about 20 degerrs or so. As a a matter of fact I just went out to the mailbox without my heavy jacket for the first time in a month.

As far as global warming goes I can tell you definitively what the real source for it all is.... The sun! <g>

Apparently there are some cycles that are around 11 years or so with sunspots and some others whose cycles are pretty much an exact match for the ones that have been measured here. Last I remember was that we're actually entering a period of cooling.

So Rick, you might want to invest in a pair of snowshoes. <g>

Best,

DD

re: Let it Snow...
by Jeff February 01, 2008 @ 9:10 pm

Its cold and rainy in Huntington Beach...this was supposed a "La Nina" winter, evidently mother nature didn't agree! The upside is that we have had good waves all fall and winter :)

It amazes me that it snows in paradise, who would have thunk?

re: Let it Snow...
by Rick Strahl February 02, 2008 @ 1:21 am

Man, California is getting all the waves this years. One storm after another while Hawaii is going high and dry this year which is a bummer.

It's a very odd year. No waves, but lots of wind and tons and tons of rainy stormy weather, which is actually considered 'normal' here but hasn't happened in about 6 or 7 years... looks like a lot of places are seeing 'different' weather this winter.

re: Let it Snow...
by K-Man February 02, 2008 @ 7:30 am

Global warming is such a bad name for what is going on. How about Climate Craziness.

Here in Chicago it was 70 in January! Then a couple of days later it was 0 (zero) then back up to 50 then back down to 0. Just crazy!

The science community has been saying for over 20 years that this was going to happen and it was the politicians and polluters (like coal fired power plants <- how 18th century) that were saying no it wasn't. Kind of like tobacco companies having the scientists that said cigarettes do not cause cancer.

re: Let it Snow...
by Rick Strahl February 02, 2008 @ 1:49 pm

Self denial is a basic human 'feature' <g>. The answer always will be: "Let the market forces regulate the system"... except market forces of course have no interest in self-regulating or admitting that excessive resource use is a problem - until it's all too late.

We'll find out soon enough anyway when resource availability starts its downward slope...

re: Let it Snow...
by E.R. Gilmore February 02, 2008 @ 2:03 pm

Rick,

Are you sure you're not still in Portland?

Regards,

E.R.

re: Let it Snow...
by Gates VP February 02, 2008 @ 8:25 pm

Hey Rick, they call it "Climate Change" now, not "Global Warming".

Turns out that in our process of world domination we may have been a driving force in changing the climate of that very world. Wow, blows your mind doesn't it? :P

Truth is, if the whole "Climate Change" thing is going to be the new reality then you can expect to see this stuff more and more often. Nature is very tightly coupled, like bad web services :)

re: Let it Snow...
by Ben February 04, 2008 @ 8:44 am

Rick, If you want to see lots more snow, fly back to HR. We've been in one of the longer/stronger storm cycles in quite some time. Mt Hood has picked up over 10' of snow the last week - so much that the best runs at meadows (ski area) have been mostly closed for avi danger (so its not all good). More storms on the way. We will be back in Maui March 30-May 14. Hopefully no more snowing in paradise by then. Looking forward to that.

ben