2021 may be on its way out, but this strange year has a few more tricks up its sleeve. In the latest bit of madness, meteorologists are predicting a blizzard to hit Hawaii over the weekend. People reports that the Big Island of Hawaii is expected to get 12 inches or more of snow and see winds up to 100 mph over the next few days, and meteorologists are stunned about this insane and uncharacteristic weather prediction.
The National Weather Service released a bulletin about the potentially dangerous turn of events. “Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” the bulletin read. “Blowing snow will significantly reduce visibility at times, with periods of zero visibility.”
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“CRAZY World!!Here it is folks, Hawaii has Blizzard Warning for the Volcanic Summits,” tweeted retired Weather Channel winter weather expert Tom Niziol. “That means they have beat every other state except for parts of the Plains and Alaska for a Blizzard Warning this year.”
“WINTER IN HAWAII: You probably have seen this going around social media and it’s not fake,” tweeted Nebraska-based meteorologist Brittany Foster. “Hawaii is dealing with some snow! A Blizzard Warning is in effect for the Big Island Summits as up to 12 inches of snow is expected with wind gusts over 100 mph. WOW!”
This kind of weather pattern is caused by a “Kona Low,” which The Weather Channel describes as a low-pressure system that settles in to the west of the islands and brings in moisture from the south, which will cause heavy rains and potentially floods elsewhere in Hawaii. The storms trended on Twitter, but many native Hawaiians pointed out that these storms were more common than people thought. Over the last decade, there have averaged three winter storm warnings each year, with five blizzard warnings. The last blizzard hit Hawaii in 2018.
