News of the World: Weather Worries

A week ago, one of the states here in the good ol' US of A had to deal with a blizzard.

Well, it is December and one might expect that the Christmas holiday season to turn Hawaii into a winter wonderland then so...

Wait! Did I say "Hawaii"?

Yep, I indiddly did! 

Starting Dcember 3rd, the Aloha State was impacted by  a significant storm system known locally as a “Kona Low”.*

Most of the Hawaiian Islands saw a lot of wind and rain but only the Big Island got any major snow fall.  

Hawaii residents shoveling
snow on Mauna Kea

Imagine you're a contestant on Wheel of Fortune all the way from some cold as hell state like Maine or Michigan or something and you've won a trip to the tropical paradise of Hawaii only to arrive in time for a blizzard.  

Apparently it is a thing that happens due to the elevations of volcanic peaks.  With an elevation of 13,803 feet, Mauna Kea  draws snow to the Big Island of Hawaii.  

OK, so it's a thing that can happen. 

It still seems weird to me.

While Hawaii is getting snow, Denver Colorado was not. At least not until this past Friday on December 10th.  

After 232 days of no snow reported, Denver International Airport reported 0.3 inches of snow on Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder. That’s enough to end the second-longest snowless streak in city history.**

The longest snow-free streak in Denver was in 1887 when the Mile High City went 235 consecutive days without snow. 

So it's a thing that can happen. 

It still seems weird to me.

But these incidents with snow or no snow pale into mere  inconvenience compared to the tragedy that hit Kentucky over the weekend.  

With a death toll rising as I write this, tornadoes tore through Kentucky, destroying homes, factories, an elder care facility and an Amazon warehouse.   

One tornado is believed to have ripped across 200 miles of land, flattening entire neighborhoods.

This system of tornadoes seems to be re-writing the record books for its speed, breadth and power with its massive scale for the loss of life and property in the wake of it's passing.

OK, so it's a thing that can happen? Tornadoes in December?

This seems wrong to me.

_______

*hawaii-digs-out-of-blizzard-first-view-from-mauna-kea-ground-zero-of-snowstorm

**denverpost.com/2021/12/10/denver-weather-snow-record-streak-friday