Blizzard, Big Island Summit
- When
- January 1, 9:00 PM HST to January 3, 3:05 PM HST
- Where
- Big Island Summit forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Hawaii, January 1 to 3, 2005
Dangerous weather conditions were the result as snow fell and southwest winds blew at 35 to 50 knots, with gusts to 70 knots, at and near the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Wind chill temperatures dipped below 10 degrees F, and visibility was frequently below a quarter mile with blowing and drifting snow.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
Dangerous weather conditions were the result as snow fell and southwest winds blew at 35 to 50 knots, with gusts to 70 knots, at and near the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Wind chill temperatures dipped below 10 degrees F, and visibility was frequently below a quarter mile with blowing and drifting snow. Icy roads, along with the other hazards, made travel to the summits extremely treacherous. There were no reports of serious property damage or injuries, however.
What forecasters said that day
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 Jan 1, 9:00 PM HST, 0 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 9:00 PM HST, 0 minutes before
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 900 PM HST SAT JAN 1 2005 .SYNOPSIS... A COLD FRONT OVER MAUI COUNTY WILL CONTINUE TO MAKE ITS WAY DOWN THE ISLAND CHAIN OVERNIGHT. RAIN ACROSS OAHU WILL SLOWLY TAPER OFF OVERNIGHT...BUT CONTINUE ACROSS MAUI COUNTY AND THE BIG ISLAND. COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT...COMBINED WITH THE MOISTURE WILL BRING SOME WINTER WEATHER TO THE SUMMITS OF THE BIG ISLAND TONIGHT. IMPROVEMENTS ARE EXPECTED IN THE WEATHER THROUGHOUT SUNDAY. && .DISCUSSION... HAPPY NEW YEAR...ALBEIT A RAINY START. THE FRONT WHICH BROUGHT RAIN TO KAUAI AND OAHU HAS NOW REACHED MAUI COUNTY. A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS JUST BEHIND THE FRONT WILL AFFECT OAHU OVERNIGHT. SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL HAS ENDED ITS NEARLY THREE DAY DELUGE ON KAUAI. HAVE ISSUED A PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT ALONG WITH THIS DISCUSSION TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPRESSIVE RAINFALL TOTALS ACROSS KAUAI FOR THIS STORM EVENT. IN GENERAL TOTALS WERE IN THE 6 TO 9 INCH RANGE...THOUGH A COUPLE OF LOCATIONS TOPPED 10 INCHES. THE FRONT...CURRENTLY OVER MAUI COUNTY...IS MOVING EASTWARD AROUND 10 TO 12 MPH...AND EXPECTED TO SLOW DOWN A BIT AND LINGER IN THE VICINITY OF THE BIG ISLAND THROUGH SUNDAY IN A WEAKENED STATE. AT THE MOMENT THE HEAVIEST SHOWERS ARE FALLING ACROSS THE KONA COAST...BUT THESE ARE EXPECTED TO DECREASE IN INTENSITY OVER THE NEXT HOUR OR TWO. LIGHT TO MODERATE RAINFALL WILL CONTINUE THERE OVERNIGHT. FOR THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS...THE GFS...NOGAPS...AND ECMWF ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT MOVING THE SURFACE LOW NORTH OF THE ISLANDS TO THE EAST. BEYOND 36 HOURS THERE BEGINS TO BE SOME DISAGREEMENT TIMING WISE...BUT THE MODELS DO MOVE THE LOW OUT...AND BEGIN TO BUILD A WEAK HIGH BACK IN NORTH OF THE ISLANDS. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR NORTH AND WEST FACING SHORES WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT FOR THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS ABOVE 13000 FT && TANABE
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Surf in Guam, January 1, 2005
- Flooding in Ohio, January 1 to 15, 2005
- Flood in Ohio, January 1 to 20, 2005
- Flooding in Ohio, January 1 to 20, 2005
- Flooding in Ohio, January 1 to 16, 2005
- Flood in Ohio, January 1 to 15, 2005
- Flood in Ohio, January 1 to 18, 2005
- Flood in Ohio, January 1 to 14, 2005
- Flooding in Pennsylvania, January 1 to 15, 2005
- Flood in Ohio, January 1 to 15, 2005
- Ice Storm in Iowa, January 1, 2005
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 1, 2005
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, January 2005
Sources
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: 5436307.