Hawaii has looked like anything but a quaint tropical paradise this week.
The archipelago has been socked by a potent storm that has unleashed pounding rainfall, high winds and even blizzard conditions to the mountain summits.
According to the National Weather Service office in Honolulu, the locations of Nene Cabin and Keaumo in Hawaii County received the biggest amounts of rainfall in the state.
On Monday, the rain grew so intense that Hawaii Governor David Ige declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the potential flooding damage to public and private property.
The rush of floodwaters also necessitated the rescuing of five young boys from the rapid waters of a creek. The boys, ages 9 and 10, were rescued by the Honolulu Fire Department out of the Palolo Stream on Monday after they were swept away by storm waters while playing after school.
Later in the night, more rescues were required for stranded residents in the Nuuanu Stream after a 911 caller reported multiple people struggling to get out of the rushing waters near the Pali Highway
Far above those flooding rains, heavy snow has blanketed the Big Island’s tallest mountains, notably sparking a blizzard warning that ran through Monday morning. According to the NWS, totals of 8 inches of snow were reported on the roads near the dormant volcano Mauna Kea, the highest peak in the state.
Although vacationers don’t think of Hawaii for its snow, blizzard warnings aren’t uncommon for the volcanic peak, as the last warning for the summit was issued in 2018. On top of the weekend’s heavy snow, wind gusts of nearly 90 mph were also recorded at the peak, the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane.
