Hawaii: Blanket of snow covers mountains as winter storm warning is put in place

Summits on the highest peaks of the tropical archipelago will see freezing conditions for five days

Snow at the top of Hawaii's Big Island summits (NWS Honolulu/Twitter)

An unseasonal early snowstorm has covered mountains in Hawaii with up to eight inches of snow.

A storm warning is in effect as the summits of the Big Island as heavy snow and freezing rain persist.

Access to the summit of the dormant volcano Mauna Kea, Hawaai’s tallest peak, has been closed at the Visitor Information Station 9,200-feet (2,800m) due to fog and icy roadways.

In a statement issued on Tuesday morning, the Mauna Kea Weather Center said the atmosphere near the Big Island will be "completely saturated" and "unstable", with bad weather forecast to plague the summit until Sunday.

"Inoperable conditions will continue to be the norm as extensive fog, ice, high humidity, overcast/thick clouds and periods of rain/snow plague the summit through the next 4-5 nights," the weather centre said.

Temperatures are forecast to remain close to freezing, while winds of up to 25 miles per hour are expected.

Though the tropical archipelago is normally associated with hot sunny weather, snow on the mountains is not rare.

Last year, the summits of Hawaii’s two highest volcanic peaks, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, saw up to two feet of snow in December.