Hurricane Lala brought snow to Hawaii. How is that possible?

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

If your weather forecast card this weekend had hurricane, flood, mudslide and snow all checked off at the same time, congratulations. You might have been looking at Hawaii.

Hurricane Lala battered the islands with flooding rain, damaging winds and dangerous surf over the weekend. But while residents dealt with tropical storm conditions near sea level, something far more unusual was happening atop Mauna Kea, where snow fell on one of Hawaii's tallest peaks.

The bizarre sight quickly spread across social media and weather circles, leaving many people asking the same question: How can a hurricane bring snow to Hawaii?

The answer comes down to one thing Hawaii has that New Jersey, and most of the East Coast, simply does not: a nearly 14,000-foot-high mountain.

Did Hurricane Lala really bring snow to Hawaii?

Yes.

As Hurricane Lala moved near Hawaii's Big Island, observatory cameras captured snowfall on Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano that rises nearly 13,800 feet above sea level. Photos and videos showed snow accumulating around the summit while tropical storm conditions unfolded across parts of the islands below.

The surprising images sparked disbelief online because snow and hurricanes are rarely seen in the same sentence.

Meteorologist Greg Diamond was among those documenting the event in real time. "It's happening. Hurricane Lala is currently producing SNOW on the summit of Mauna Kea," Diamond wrote on X.

Later, he added: "I just think it's so freaking wild that a hurricane is producing snow."

How can it snow in Hawaii?

Despite its tropical reputation, Hawaii's highest mountains can get cold enough for snow any time of year.

Mauna Kea rises nearly 13,800 feet above sea level, where temperatures can fall to freezing or below freezing even while beachgoers are enjoying warm conditions just a few miles away. Snowfall is not uncommon on the summit during colder periods.

The unusual part of this event wasn't that Mauna Kea got snow.

The unusual part was that a tropical cyclone supplied the moisture in the middle of August.

Why did Hurricane Lala produce snow?

Snow needs two ingredients: moisture and cold air.

Lala provided plenty of moisture.

The storm dumped extraordinary rainfall across parts of Hawaii, with forecasters warning that some areas could receive 30 to 40 inches of rain. At lower elevations, that moisture fell as torrential rain, fueling flooding, mudslides and road closures.

But near the summit of Mauna Kea, temperatures were cold enough for that same moisture to freeze and fall as snow instead.

Meteorologist and atmospheric scientist Marshall Shepherd said the phenomenon was remarkable even by expert standards. Writing about the storm, Shepherd noted that snowfall associated with Hurricane Lala was something "very new" to him despite more than three decades of experience in meteorology.

Could a hurricane bring snow to New Jersey?

Not in the same way.

The critical difference is elevation.

Mauna Kea rises nearly 14,000 feet into much colder air. New Jersey's highest point, High Point, is just over 1,800 feet above sea level. The Northeast simply lacks the towering tropical mountains that allow a hurricane's moisture to interact with freezing temperatures high above the surface.

Tropical storm remnants can sometimes interact with colder air and produce unusual weather across the Northeast, but the setup that produced snow during Hurricane Lala is unique to places with extremely high elevations.

How much rain did Hurricane Lala bring to Hawaii?

The storm's rainfall totals were staggering.

Forecasters warned that some parts of the Big Island could receive up to 30 to 40 inches of rain. Weather observations showed some locations recording more than 40 inches, while widespread flooding, power outages and mudslides were reported across the islands.

At least one death was reported as officials responded to flooding and storm-related emergencies. More than 100 homes were reported destroyed or heavily damaged in some of the hardest-hit areas.

What's next for Lala?

As of Monday, Lala had weakened to a tropical storm and was moving away from Hawaii. Forecasters said the system could fluctuate in strength and potentially regain hurricane status as it continued westward across the Central Pacific.

For many people, though, Lala may be remembered for something else entirely.

Flooding rains from a hurricane are not unusual. Powerful winds are not unusual. Even snow on Hawaii's highest mountains is not unheard of.

Seeing all three happen at the same time? That's the kind of weather story that makes people stop scrolling and wonder if the headline could possibly be true. This time, it was.

Maria Francis is a Pennsylvania-based journalist covering trending and breaking topics across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions for USA Today Network. Reach her at mfrancis@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Hurricane Lala brought snow to Hawaii. How is that possible?

Reporting by Maria Francis, Pocono Record / NorthJersey.com