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Snow falls in Maui, 191 MPH wind recorded in Hawaii

Posted at 5:31 PM, Feb 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-11 18:31:10-05

A historic low-pressure system passed through the Hawaiian Islands over the weekend, leaving behind damaging winds and record snowfall, according to the National Weather Service and Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Late Sunday, a 191-MPH wind gust was recorded on the summit of Mauna Kea. To put into perspective, the top winds in damaging Hurricane Michael in Florida were 150 MPH.

Mauna Kea sits at an elevation at near 14,000 feet, and has seen it's share of snow in recent days.

While Mauna Kea is no stranger to snow, elevations below 10,000 feet rarely see snow in Hawaii. But at Maui’s Polipoli State Park, snow was reported at an elevation of 6,200 feet.

According to the state's Department of Land and Natural Resources, this was perhaps the closest to sea level that snow has fallen in Hawaii.

After the weekend's storm passed, the sun came out on Monday. Temperatures in Maui approached 80 degrees.