On the night of February 25, 2002, a major thunderstorm hit the Big Island of Hawaii. This caused a lot of snowfall on Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, roughly down to the 8000-ft level. Attempts to reach the observatory failed on the 26th and 27th.

The following pictures were taken on 2/27 during the attempt to reach the observatory. 

Mauna Loa From saddle road.	Snow man with Mauna Kea in background.
Steve, Bob, and Paul.	The road to the observatory.

Photos were taken by Paul Fukumura-Sawada.

 

The following pictures were taken on 2/28. 

Mauna Loa from the base of the observatory road.	View facing east at the NDSC building.
View facing west.	Snow build up on the NDSC building.

Photos taken by Darryl Kuniyuki