Stormy weather Winter storm conditions are forecast for Hawaii through the weekend and into next week.
arrives statewide
The wet and windy conditions are
a return to the winter normBy Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com"Wet and windy," summarized National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Farrell. "It is typical winter weather but we haven't had a good winter for many, many years," he said.
A Kona low pressure system is developing over the islands, he said. "It doesn't mean Kona winds. Obviously, trades are blowing all get-out."
But upper air circulation will destabilize the atmosphere, resulting in increasingly heavy showers and possible thunderstorms over the weekend and early next week, he said. Farrell said heavy showers are predicted for the Big Island tomorrow, then all the islands on Sunday.
A winter storm watch has been issued for snow-capped Big Island summits. The Mauna Kea Access Road was closed to the public today above Hale Pohaku at the 9,000-foot level due to ice on the road and access to the summit is expected to be closed until the storms pass.
And workers at Haleakala observatories on Maui from changing shifts for a few hours this morning because of ice and high winds. Haleakala National Park chief ranger Karen Newton said no snow fell but the temperature was about 26 degrees at 4:20 a.m.
Newton said the road was reopened by 8 a.m., but fallen trees partially blocked the road leading to the park as winds blew at close to 70 miles an hour near the summit.
On Oahu, about 2,400 customers in the Ewa area lost power for three hours overnight due to a downed pole.
Reporters Gary Kubota and Rod Thompson contributed to this story.