Category Archives: Weather

Road closed

The spot where the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption crossed the road to the observatory
The spot where the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption crossed the road to the observatory

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Roads, Paths, and Streets.’ See more responses here.

After a recent hike off Saddle Road, I had time to take a drive up one of my favorite roads on the island, which leads to the Mauna Loa Observatory. Well, it used to; it doesn’t get there anymore. That’s because a flow from last fall’s eruption of Mauna Loa crossed the road a few miles short of its destination. I was curious to see what the scene looked like now.

The cloudy skies added some atmosphere to the drive which was, as always, a lot of fun. It’s a winding one lane road, so even though there’s little traffic, one has to pay attention. Any distraction could result in driving off the road into the inhospitable lava fields bordering it.

I confess, my secret hope was that, when I arrived at the flow, there would be a sign saying ‘Road Closed.’ Alas, that was not the case. Clearly, the Department of Transportation figured the seven foot high wall of lava conveyed the message well enough on its own. The only sign there warned against walking on the new flow. I didn’t need that warning. This is a’a lava which is really hard to walk on anyway, and in a new flow it could be quite unstable and even harbor pockets where one could fall through into still hot lava! Still, I’m sure some folks have clambered up there just because it’s there.

I took a few photos, then turned around and headed back down, not least because it was damp, windy and I was freezing, which is not why anyone comes to, or lives in, Hawaii.

The HISEAS dome on the slopes of Mauna Loa

On the drive down, I got a good view of the HI-SEAS (Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) dome. This is where teams of volunteers do research for what it would be like to be living on the Moon or Mars. I’m not sure if it’s in use since the COVID shutdown, but at least it survived the last eruption.

Clouds meet the and on the saddle between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea in Hawaii

Farther down, the land seemed to be steaming, but in the saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, the weather often seems to be part of the landscape.

The Mauna Loa Observatory Road on a cloudy afternoon

And the views, which change with every twist in the road, are strange and stunning and wonderful. It may not be possible currently to reach the end of the road, but it’s still a great drive.

Fishermen

Two fishermen on the North Kohala coast, Hawaii

I saw these two fishermen on these rocks at the foot of a cliff in North Kohala. By the time I got organized, this is the photo I got. The photo I was after happened moments earlier, when the pair were being soaked by spray from a big set of swells breaking against the rock shelf the right of this photo. By the time the next big swells moved in the two of them had moved farther away from that spot and the photo opportunity had gone.

Pelekane Beach changes

Pelekane Beach at Kawaihae in Hawaii

I’ve posted a fair number of photos taken on early morning walks in the vicinity of Pelekane Beach, between Kawaihae harbor and Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. During the winter months, I haven’t stopped there because it’s still dark when I go by, but recently I had an opportunity to visit in the now lighter early morning.

I parked my car in my usual spot and was about to get out and walk along the beach when I realized that there was no beach. Where I usually walked was now water. I got out and saw that the lagoon behind the beach now extended into the back of the beach. Not only that, but the beach was radically different. Instead on being gently sloping sand it was now marked with steep slopes and small sandy cliffs.

I think the dramatic changes are probably due to the storms and downpours that pounded the area this past winter. The good news is that it’s still a great spot for an early morning walk!

Pelekane Beach at Kawaihae in Hawaii

Better Days: Shade tree and bench

A tree blown over by high winds in Hawaii

The high winds of a few weeks ago caused a fair amount of damage around the island. At Lapakahi State Historical Park, this tree was toppled and took out a bench that had been set up in its shade. The bench will have to be fixed and set up somewhere else because that shade isn’t coming back anytime soon.

Up, up, and away

A scientific balloon rises over the Big Island, Hawaii
A scientific balloon rises over the Big Island, Hawaii

On Monday, an early-morning glance up at the sky showed this unusual sight. It’s a balloon designed to fly at an altitude between 70,000 and 90,000 feet. The balloon, which is about 400-feet tall, is part of Project Aether, which seeks to demonstrate the stratospheric communication capabilities of unmanned balloons.

The balloon was launched from the airport in Waimea and in the photos was at an altitude of around 5,000 feet, but climbing steady. I followed it’s progress on Flightradar24 and later it had drifted out over the ocean and reached 78,000 feet. The next day, it disappeared. Not sure if that’s because its tracking failed or because something else happened to it.

The intention was for it to fly across the ocean and the U.S. mainland before being retrieved on the east coast. A second balloon was supposed to be launched a couple of days after this one, but I haven’t seen any sign of it yet, though that might simply be down to unsuitable weather conditions.

More information can be found here.