Hawaii snowstorm
A SNOWSTORM HITS HAWAII: On
Monday, an historic winter storm pounded Hawaii with hurricane force
winds, massive waves, and snow in some unusual places. Maui was
blanketed in snow at altitudes as low as 6200 feet--the lowest snowfall
since 1952. At the 10,023-foot summit of Maui's Haleakala volcano,
many world-class telescopes were frozen solid:
"We were finally allowed into
Haleakala National Park to get to the Haleakala Observatory," reports
Rob Ratkowski, who photographed the scene. "About a foot of snow
fell creating black ice that was a danger to vehicles. When we arrived
today we saw much ice attached to buildings, observatories and
fences."
The Haleakala Observatory was Hawaii's
first astronomical research and development facility. Managed by the
University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, the summit is home to
the ATLAS asteroid impact early warning system, the Air Force's Maui Space Surveillance Complex, the Pan-STARRS asteroid and comet survey telescope, and (under construction) the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope--the
most powerful solar telescope in the world, capable of studying the
sun's surface, corona, and magnetic fields in unprecedented detail.
These and other telescopes on
the summit may not thaw out until next week. The National Weather
Service has issued a winter storm warning for Haleakala that does not
expire until Friday: "A mix of wintry weather is expected early
Wednesday, and then again on Thursday, making travel to Haleakala Summit
extremely dangerous." Be careful, Rob Ratkowski!
spaceweather.com
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