It felt like winter in Hawaii when snow fell on the Haleakala, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa peaks at night, while nighttime temperatures dropped to a cold 50 and 60 degrees.
The National Weather Service expects a cold front – which brought gusts and torrential rains when traveling from Kauai to Maui on Wednesday – to weaken as it moves to the island of Hawaii this morning, and heads east tonight.
Today’s forecast is partly sunny for most islands, with isolated afternoon showers and highs of 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. The casualties tonight are expected to fall to the 50s and 60s again – and as low as the 40s for Kula, Maui.
Northwest winds are expected to maintain speeds of 15 to 20 mph today, before becoming light and variable tonight.
On the island of Hawaii, the sky will be partly cloudy, with scattered showers and a small chance of storms tonight.
The winter weather warning for the Haleakala and Big Isle peaks was canceled about 10 minutes before it expired at 10 am today, after a night of freezing drizzle, fog, ice and snow.
Meteorological officials said the ice at the highest elevations in Haleakala is now melting and a significant snowfall is not expected in the peaks of Ilha Grande.
A high-wave alert, however, was issued for the north and west coasts of Kauai and Oahu County due to a large northwest swell, effective until 6 am on Friday.
Surfing is expected from 20 to 30 feet along the north and west coasts of Niihau and Kauai, and from 20 to 25 feet along the north coast of Oahu. For the west coast of Oahu, surfing should reach 5 to 6 meters.
Meteorological authorities warn that anyone who enters the water in these areas could suffer significant injury or death.
A high surf warning was also issued for the north and west coasts of Molokai, with waves of 16 to 20 feet and 12 to 15 feet, respectively.
The advisory also covers the north coast of Maui, with waves of 16 to 20 feet, and the west coast of the island of Hawaii, with waves of 6 to 10 feet.
Meteorologists expect drier and colder conditions to build up on the islands today, with the remnants of the cold front leaving the state tonight. The cold and dry climate, with light winds, should prevail on Friday until the weekend.
Although temperatures looked cool due to the cold front, the NWS recorded a record 86 degrees for Honolulu on Wednesday, which surpassed the previous record of 84 set in 1962.
Nightly casualties are expected to drop to 50 in some parts of Hawaii for the rest of the week.
Another cold front is expected to reach the islands early next week.