About an inch of snow fell on Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii above the 12,500-foot level. The resultant icy conditions caused officials to close the road that leads to the 13,796-foot summit for several hours on the 11th.
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The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
About an inch of snow fell on Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii above the 12,500-foot level. The resultant icy conditions caused officials to close the road that leads to the 13,796-foot summit for several hours on the 11th. The road was reopened by 10:15 AM later that day. There were no reports of serious injuries or property damage.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Honolulu, HI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 10, 4:05 PM HST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.
NARRATIVE SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION FOR AMERICAN SAMOA AND THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF SAMOA TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... A SURFACE TROUGH REMAINS NORTH AND EAST OF YOUR ISLANDS THIS AFTERNOON...WITH SOUTHEAST FLOW OVER YOUR ISLANDS. THERE IS A DISTURBANCE DEVELOPED EAST OF YOUR AREA NEAR 13S 165W. FORECAST CHARTS HINT THIS LOW EVENTUALLY MAY MOVE WEST THROUGH YOUR AREA. IT WILL BE IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD IF THIS HAPPEN. IN THE MEAN TIME... AREA OF LOW CLOUDS EMBEDDED IN THE TRADE FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO BRING PASSING SHOWERS TO YOUR ISLANDS. LOOK FOR PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH SOUTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS. A LONG PERIOD NORTH SWELL WITH HEIGHT OF 3 TO 5 FEET WILL CONTINUE AS WELL AS A SHORT PERIOD SOUTHEAST SWELL WITH HEIGHTS OF 3 TO 5 FEET. OUTLOOK FOR FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... AS MENTIONED EARLIER...FORECAST CHARTS BRING THIS LOW ACROSS YOUR REGION WESTWARD REACHING YOUR ISLANDS SATURDAY. IF THE FORECAST CHARTS ARE CORRECT...SHOULD SEE WORSENING WEATHER SATURDAY AND SUNDAY WITH MORE SHOWERS...THUNDERSTORMS AND VARIABLE WINDS. OTHERWISE LOOK FOR SOUTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 KNOTS TO PREVAIL WITH PASSING CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. NARRATIVE DISCUSSION FOR TUVALU TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...TUVALU TIME... SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS MOST OF THE CONVECTION HAVE SHIFTED NORTH OF YOUR ISLANDS. THERE IS AN AREA OF CONVECTION OVER THE EXTREME NORTHERN PORTION OF YOUR ISLAND CHAIN...OTHERWISE SCATTERED LOW AND HIGH CLOUDS COVERING YOUR DISTRICT. A SURFACE TROUGH WILL PERSIST ACROSS 08S WITH CONVECTION DEVELOPING MAINLY NORTH OF THIS TROUGH. LOOK FOR ISOLATED CONVECTION TO CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE EXTREME PORTION OF YOUR ISLAND CHAIN WHILE REST OF THE AREA SHOULD SEE PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS. WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS TO 10 KNOT NORTH OF TROUGH AND SOUTHEAST WINDS TO 10 KNOTS SOUTH OF THE TROUGH PREVAIL.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Hawaii in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, December 2002
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5325312.