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Maui snow day

Local families flock to Haleakala summit for rare Valley Isle snowfall

While Haleakala crater remained clear, the summit was coated with snow Monday. Park visitors could also catch a glimpse of snow on Hawaii island in the distance. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo

HALEAKALA — Eight-year-old Brayden Kitagawa of Pukalani was so happy to see snow on the summit of Haleakala that he cried.

A surprise snowfall on the mountaintop Sunday night delighted local families and amused visitors who came to Hawaii to escape the winter cold.

“It’s amazing,” said Paia resident Chastine Mendoza, who made a snowman the size of her 9-month-old son, Kolten. “I think we’ve been here for about two hours. I’m not ready to go home.”

The 1.5-inch snowfall followed a day of drenching rains and stormy conditions on Maui. Early Monday morning, a heavy layer of ice covered the snow and created extremely hazardous road conditions, leading the National Park Service to close the road to the summit at the 9,000-foot elevation level.

The road reopened before noon Monday, and snow still coated the summit and the ground around the observatories. It was sunny and windy, with temperatures around the high 40s to low 50s. With school out for the Presidents Day weekend, local families flocked to the mountain.

Eight-year-old Brayden Kitagawa of Pukalani (far right) dashes away after striking dad Glen Kitagawa with a snowball while mom Kathy Kitagawa watches Monday afternoon at the summit of Haleakala. Many local families like the Kitagawas drove up the mountain to see the rare 1.5-inch snowfall that followed stormy conditions on Maui Sunday night. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo

“The drive up and the traffic jam, we’re like, ‘Is it going to be worth it?'” said Spreckelsville resident Lenna Miller, who brought her two daughters to the summit. “And as soon as we turned the corner, we were like, ‘Snow!’ . . . Their expressions were just priceless.”

Kimberley Vares of Kihei brought her 5-year-old son, Kayden, to experience his first snow. The road was closed as they approached the summit around 9 a.m., so they went for a hike until the road reopened.

“I was born and raised on Maui. It took me 30 years to see snow on Haleakala,” said Vares, who had glimpsed the snow from sea level but never on the summit. “We never came up here because by the time you get up here they close the road. Today, we lucked out.”

The Christopherson family moved from Seattle to Wailuku about two years ago. Their grandmother just got snow in Portland, and the kids were jealous, mom Cheryl Christopherson said. When the family heard there was snow on Haleakala, they scrounged up whatever warm clothes they could find and drove up the mountain.

“We’re like, ‘Grab your hoodies!’ And (the kids) were like, ‘We don’t have hoodies!’ “ dad James Christopherson said.

Kai Gumtang (from right), Jay Teixeira and Koa Hashimoto brave the cold while Sierra Chavez snaps a photo. All live Upcountry and attend King Kekaulike High School. Except for Teixeira, they all said it was their first time seeing snow at the summit. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo

Abigail Christopherson, 16, always missed the snow during the holidays and said it was “a dream come true.”

“Everything is perfect here,” she said. “We just need the snow.”

Visitors were also surprised to see snow on their vacation. Bethany Mumm and her family left about 4 feet of snow behind in Scott’s Bluff, Neb.

“We’re used to snow, but it’s crazy to come here just to see snow when you’re from Nebraska,” Mumm said. “You don’t get to say you go to Hawaii and see snow every day.”

Haleakala snowfalls strike every so often. One of the more recent events happened in January 2011, also after a wintry storm. Snow also fell in January 2008 and in January 2006, though park officials and weather analysts debated whether it was actually snow or hail.

Chastine Mendoza (left) photographs 9-month-old son Kolten beside their freshly made snowman. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo

Park officials could not be reached for comment Monday as to when the most recent snow began to fall.

Beth Williams, a cashier at the park’s visitors center, said conditions at the park “got nasty about noon” on Sunday.

“The wind started picking up, rain, lightning. You could just feel the temperature drop,” she said. “The Big Island was having a winter storm advisory. I thought, ‘OK, we’ve had that before.’ It usually blocks it because they’re much higher than we are. But it got through.”

Williams said the park opened for sunrise viewing, though cars were allowed only as far as the Kalahaku Overlook at around the 9,000-foot elevation.

The National Weather Service continued a winter weather advisory for snow for Haleakala through Monday morning, though it was canceled by 10:15 a.m. The weather service forecasted partly cloudy skies for the summit Monday evening, with a slight chance of thunderstorms and isolated rain showers in the evening. Temperatures were expected to be around 40 at the visitors center and around 33 at the summit. No snow was predicted for the rest of the week.

Snow still coated the ground around the summit at noon Monday, enough for snowball fights and a few snowmen. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.

Kimberley Vares (left) and 5-year-old son Kayden put the finishing touches on their snowman. Vares said she’s lived on Maui all her life and had never come up to Haleakala to see the snow before. The Maui News / COLLEEN UECHI photo

South Maui beachgoers, enjoying the sun after a stormy Sunday, were able to look up to see the snowcapped Haleakala mountain. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

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