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Well, the MK summit road is officially closed, but in reality it's impassable beyond roughly 11,000 feet. A snow clearing crew went up today but were beaten back by white-out conditions and hurricane force winds. Snow is down as far as 10,500 feet.
A couple of webcam shots taken just before sunset:
http://www.ukirt.hawaii.edu/~tkerr/summi...webcam.jpg
http://www.ukirt.hawaii.edu/~tkerr/summit/ukirt.jpg
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quote:
Originally posted by TomK
Well, the MK summit road is officially closed, but in reality it's impassable beyond roughly 11,000 feet. A snow clearing crew went up today but were beaten back by white-out conditions and hurricane force winds. Snow is down as far as 10,500 feet.
A couple of webcam shots taken just before sunset:
http://www.ukirt.hawaii.edu/~tkerr/summi...webcam.jpg
http://www.ukirt.hawaii.edu/~tkerr/summit/ukirt.jpg
[:0] Mahalo for the update, Mr. Tom, and ironyak. I could see for a brief moment earlier today, the snow...Love it!!! Poli'ahu shows her beautiful self.
Mr. Tom, you can stare at her all you like, Sir, with all due respect, she is smiling
right back 'atcha! Sir. Because, you are a good soul. [
] IMHO.
Only here in Hawai'i nei, can you have Tutu Pele flowing (and dancing around Puna), and her sister, Poli'ahu, in all
her glory.
Enjoy the evening all, it's cold as heck! Brrrr! (Being of menopause age, LOVE IT! Sorry, TMI. [:I])
JMO.
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Well, the shot of UKIRT is of the leeward side of the dome so is actually quite well sheltered. I dread to think what the other side of the dome looks like right now, but probably a lot like that shot of ASIVA (all sky infrared and visible sky monitor).
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PS. Opihikao - slightly ironic I guess, but guess where those icicles on ASIVA point? That's right, Pu'u Poli'ahu!
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I'd buy you guys on top one of these.. They get the job done.
http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Smar...Clear.html
But I don't want to.
" The odds are good... But the goods are odd "
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quote:
Originally posted by TomK
PS. Opihikao - slightly ironic I guess, but guess where those icicles on ASIVA point? That's right, Pu'u Poli'ahu!
[
] That's right, Sir.
JMO.
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http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Smar...Clear.html
That technology would be fantastic on MK, but suspect budgets won't allow it.
Reminds me of a funny story about the road clearing crew. I may have posted this before.
A few years ago a very bad winter storm was forecast for Mauna Kea. It was end-of-world stuff; several feet of snow and strong winds. All the observatories battened down the hatches while MKSS thought it a good idea to move their snow clearing vehicles up to park one, which is just above the dirt road.
Fortunately, the management has changed since then.
The snow came and fell hard. No one could make it above the dirt road because the snow drifts were so bad. The snow clearing equipment remained dormant and beyond anyone's reach for days.
Since then I don't remember seeing any report about snow clearing equipment being moved from Hale Pohaku.
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quote:
That technology would be fantastic on MK, but suspect budgets won't allow it.
It's to bad the county/state can't move into the 21st century
And look at at the technology that's out there.
....as important as the telescopes are..
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The budget and funding for the summit road comes from the observatories, not the county or state. Budgets include a reasonable amount for snow clearing, but there is only so much money for that. It is hard to justify the money for observatory operations and justify money for stuff that may or may not happen.
In any case, I do hope those who visit the summit are grateful to the scientific community, because their funding actually allows the public to visit the summit.
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This morning from our garden...more snow than last week:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k60wduw8z2o3si...g.JPG?dl=0
