Thundersnow with 'continuous' lightning hit Hawaii on Sunday
Thundersnow, a phenomenon that makes weather geeks everywhere rejoice, struck in an unusual location on Sunday.
According to the National Weather Service, a low pressure system resulted in snowfall with "continuous thunder and lightning" over the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii.
The summits were plastered with snow and pounded by strong winds on Sunday, according to webcam footage and social media postings.
While snowfall is not unusual on these mountains -- Mauna Kea is 13,769 feet above sea level -- thundersnow is rare.
Thundersnow is essentially a thunderstorm that occurs when it's cold enough to snow instead of rain, and like summertime thunderstorms, thundersnow also requires the vigorous upward motion of air.
According to weather.com, such conditions were present on Sunday thanks to what is known as a "Kona Low."
This weather setup features an upper level low pressure area centered to the west of the Big Island. A surface low pressure area also formed, causing winds to shift out of the typical northeasterly direction to the southwest, which is known locally as the leeward or "Kona" direction.
The low pressure system combined with upper level winds to trigger heavy showers and thunderstorms across the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday.
The Big Island in particular was located in an ideal position to be hit by such heavy precipitation, and the Weather Service had issued winter storm warnings for the summits.
Because of its distance from air pollution sources and low light pollution, Mauna Kea serves as an astronomical observatory, with several world-class telescopes located on the summit.
Andrew Freedman is Mashable's Senior Editor for Science and Special Projects. Prior to working at Mashable, Freedman was a Senior Science writer for Climate Central. He has also worked as a reporter for Congressional Quarterly and Greenwire/E&E Daily. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, online at The Weather Channel, and washingtonpost.com, where he wrote a weekly climate science column for the "Capital Weather Gang" blog. He has provided commentary on climate science and policy for Sky News, CBC Radio, NPR, Al Jazeera, Sirius XM Radio, PBS NewsHour, and other national and international outlets. He holds a Masters in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
