12-17-2013, 05:16 PM
Well, what's pretty for many is also a bit of a pain for others! Snow clearing for summit workers over Christmas is something they hoped wouldn't be on the schedule, but maybe it will be now - but do agree the summit covered in snow is a wonderful sight and if it happens for Christmas, well, that's extra special! The Mauna Kea Weather Center (MKWC) is hedging its bets right now saying that the heaviest stuff may stay to the east, but we'll see. (twice daily forecast on weekdays available here - http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/forecast/mko/).
The MKWC is also testing an ice sensor which is attached to UKIRT. The idea of this is to detect ice on the summit road quickly to give an indication of icing and potentially dangerous conditions at the summit. It appears to be working well although it's work in progress. The data have just been made public, so perhaps some of you with meteorological interests want to keep an eye on it. The basic output is about halfway down here - http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/current/road-conditions/ - and the link just below that gives a little more detailed information - http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/current/road-...ad-obs.cgi - but I just want to emphasis again this is in a testing period, so it'll be interesting to see it in action over the next few days.
The MKWC is also testing an ice sensor which is attached to UKIRT. The idea of this is to detect ice on the summit road quickly to give an indication of icing and potentially dangerous conditions at the summit. It appears to be working well although it's work in progress. The data have just been made public, so perhaps some of you with meteorological interests want to keep an eye on it. The basic output is about halfway down here - http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/current/road-conditions/ - and the link just below that gives a little more detailed information - http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/current/road-...ad-obs.cgi - but I just want to emphasis again this is in a testing period, so it'll be interesting to see it in action over the next few days.