how cold is it at 2000 ft elevation?

[renea]

I will be moving to the Big Island in the next year and I am just trying to get a good idea of the weather at higher elevation. Looking at different realestate listings some things say "cooler weather" and I was just wonderning how cool? So if maby some of you nice people could let me know how high up you are and how cold it really gets! Thanks

[MarkP]

I have a lot in Eden Roc which is at around 1,800 ft elevation. I have slept in a steel shipping container there and in the winter I have woken up at 3 am from the cold when my sleeping bag didn't quite do its job. Granted it was an old sleeping bag and the steel container has absolutly no insulation and I had propped the door open, but still it was probably colder than what many people think Hawaii would be. In the same neighborhood I stayed with a friend in his house, again uninsulated but a real house with doors and windows, and I could see my breath one morning. I regularly feel cold at night up there.

[Dave Smith]

The climate folks say that relatively speaking, temperatures drop by about 3 degrees for each 1,000 feet of elevation.

[DanielP]

It's cooler in the summer and colder in the winter.
Rent first, buy later.

[Hotzcatz]

Do not buy a house in Hawaii until you have rented in the area for at least six months.
I repeat: DO NOT BUY A HOUSE IN HAWAII UNTIL YOU HAVE RENTED IN THE AREA FOR AT LEAST SIX MONTHS.

There, that said - here's http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/?lat=19.63871&lon=-155.41534&zoom=10
That's a site for weather stations on our island. Depending on where you are, things are quite different even though it's all the same island.

[missydog1]

I so agree with Hotzcatz.

Especially now when if you buy something and it's wrong for you you will lose money making a change.

Even after living on the island for some time, I found it not so easy to evaluate the various Puna subdivisions and how I would feel living in the places I looked at. Perhaps I found it a challenge because I had already learned how much important stuff about a location is not obvious from a first or second look.

There is a ton to learn about any place on the island. We did buy immediately, and a year later we were selling. My husband had lived here before, but still ...

and the microclimates are different all over and change throughout the year, and they change from day to day.

ed to add that 1000 foot elevation is nice to me. Sea level is too hot, and 2500 feet is too cold, but again it depends on the area of the island more than the elevation.

[renea]

Thanks for the warning KathyH. When you say "wrong for me" do you mean the climate or the different subdivisions? I have been to Hawaii twice, once as a kid for the summer and then last November. When I went last year I spent alot of time looking at different areas. My friend that I stayed with is an agent so he took me around. We are also planning on building our own home. I am trying to plan another trip for this March.

[missydog1]

hi renea,
Kathy is fine (rather than KathyH)

I suppose there are many reasons a location can turn out to be wrong or at least not the best choice.

Distance from town, isolation, bad neighbors, crime, not feeling sympatico with the neighborhood, too much or too little rain or sun, vog, proximity to lava flow, heat, cold, humidity, mold, fire ants, coqui, the list goes on.

A few other aspects:
you may not end up working (or not working) in the place or manner you planned

your friends or family may relocate - like I'm really tired of having to drive 2-3 hours each way to see my family after they all moved to the west side -- and I live north of Hilo, which is closer than Puna.

There is a lot to learn about both new construction and buying existing homes here.
There is a lot to learn about what goes on in neighborhoods and your tolerance to it.

Weather changes, and after a trip in November you really have no idea of the summer, or even with the winter, we have weeks that are like summer only cooler, and then we have weeks with flooding, thunderstorms, power outages, etc..

A simple example is with roads. You take one trip with an agent, or two. You are excited about Hawai'i, and the future. The poor road quality and the time and distance from town may not even impress you. But give yourself a year of having to drive in and out of that road every time you need the simplest trip to the store, and after all the novelty fades, and you might get sick of it.

You may think you'll be fine with catchment water, but you might not like it.

You may be unconcerned with the eruption hazards, but then a new vent opens up on the rift and suddenly you could be at risk. People here have gotten complacent. Be sure that you've studied the southeast rift zone and understand it can open up at any point and what that would mean to your property. Don't let the fact that all sorts of people are building there lull you into thinking it must be safe. Do your geologic homework!

Being taken around is not enough.
After you live here and meet people, you will be in such a better position to make an important choice that will affect your life for years to come.

[dakine]

Just to give you a sense of the most extreme.. i.e., the coldest weather you can expect. In the Volcano Village area, which is as high in elevation as you are going to get, (approximately 4,000' feet above sea level) we get frost for 1 or 2 mornings once every 3 - 4 years. We heat our home to one extent or another from november through may.

[renea]

Thanks Kathy[] I have been researching the Big Island for about 3 years and I just now found this web site. So I am really happy that I can talk to people who have done the same thing and can let me know what to look for. My friends live just North of Hilo and have a much different life style then I am looking for, so its kinda hard to ask them questions. I am looking for something safe as I have 3 kids, but I plan on homeschooling so schools don't matter that much. As for a job, I am now a student midwife and we will be moving as soon as I am done with my schooling. So I hope to be working for myself. I am very concerned about the lava issue, but like you said people are buying land anywhere so I can't let that confuse me.