The Aloha State of Hawaii is a famous tourist destination located in the South Pacific that is well known for its beautiful weather. But there are some crazy weather facts about the state of Hawaii that will likely boggle your mind. Here are five hard to believe but entirely true weather facts about the state of Hawaii.
1. The State of Hawaii has Never Had a Temperature Reading Above 100 Degrees
Believe it or not but the record hottest temperature ever recorded in Hawaii is just 100 degrees. That occurred on April 27, 1931, in Pahala on the big island of Hawaii. Due to its location in the South Pacific and the fact that Hawaii is easily the southernmost state in the United States one would think the record hottest temperature for Hawaii would be much higher than 100 degrees but it's not. (Photo below by Paul Bica)
Interestingly, the northernmost state in the United States, Alaska, also has a record hottest temperature of 100 degrees. The same as Hawaii. That's a crazy weather fact.
2. Yes it snows in Hawaii even though it's in the South Pacific
Even though Hawaii is in the South Pacific it does get snowfall every year. Most of the snow falls on top of the two tallest mountains in Hawaii named Mauna Kea (13,796 feet high) and Muana Loa (13,679 feet) which are both located on the big island of Hawaii.
Muana Kea means white mountain in the Hawaiian language. There are astronomical observatories on top of Muana Kea and a road leads up to the top so some people do ski or snowboard down the mountain when the snow gets deep enough.
Snowfall also sometimes occurs on top of 10,023 foot high Haleakala which is located on the island of Maui and is home to Haleakala National Park. Very rarely freak cold spells can occur in the Hawaiian Islands which have brought snowfall down as low as the 3,000 foot level but that snowfall never accumulates or lasts long.
3. Mount Waialeale Averages an Incredible 452 Inches of Rain Per Year
If you like rain than Mount Waialeale on the island of Kauai is the place for you. Mount Waialeale averages a whopping 452 inches of rain per year which makes it the second or third rainiest spot in the world. An average of 1.24 inches of rain falls daily on Mount Waialeale shown in photos below.
Why does it rain so much on Mount Waialeale? It is a shield volcano with very steep cliffs that trap and force moisture laden air to rise rapidly up the cliffs and then dump its rain right on top of the mountain. The rainfall here is so heavy there is an almost continuous flow of water over the sides of Mount Waialeale which creates numerous waterfalls flowing down the mountain side called the "Wall of Tears" (see photo below by Miguel Vieira).
The rainfall is so heavy here the locals promote Mount Waialeale as a tourist attraction due to all the rain. That's mainly for tourists to see the "Wall of Tears" on helicopter rides over and around the mountain on Kauai.
4. Honolulu is Southernmost Largest City in USA and is in South Pacific but Every Major City in USA has Hotter Record Temperature
The record hottest temperature ever recorded in Honolulu is 95 degrees which occurred on September 19, 1994. Even though Honolulu is in the South Pacific and is the largest southernmost city in the United States you cannot find any major city in the Continental United States that has a record hottest temperature below that of Honolulu.
New York City's record high temperature is 106 degrees. Boston's is 104, Minneapolis' is 108, Chicago's is 105. Seattle, which is the largest northernmost city in the Continental USA, has record hottest temperature of 103 degrees. It's pretty amazing that practically every city in the United States has a record hottest temperature that is much hotter than Honolulu's is.
5. Rainfall Total in Hawaii Can Vary by Hundreds of Inches a Year in Places Only 10 to 20 Miles Apart
When I visited Hawaii in the 1990s a local tour guide on Maui told us that there is a place on the island that averages over 400 inches of rainfall a year but only 10 miles away there is another spot that averages only a few inches of rainfall per year. That is pretty crazy weather but it happens because of the mountainous terrain found on Maui.
As rain clouds go over Maui or any of the Hawaiian Islands they get stuck on top of the steep mountains and dump all their moisture. So some places beyond the mountains get very little annual rainfall.
On the big island of Hawaii, the city of Hilo averages some 127 inches of annual rainfall but only 20 miles or so away near the summit of Muana Kea the average rainfall is just 8 inches per year. That's for different reasons but it's still pretty crazy weather.
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