Blizzard Warning: White Christmas in Hawaii

There is a blizzard warning in effect for Hawaii on Dec. 25. What sorcery is this? Here's a copy of the NWS warnings map:

It's true -- the high mountains of the island woke up to a White Christmas. No one much lives there, save a couple ski resorts and scientific outposts, and snow does happen each winter there, just due to the extreme elevation of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa (both near 14,000 feet!) blizzard conditions and December snow are more rare.

The NWS warned of up to 8 inches of snow, winds to 90 mph and drifting snow. Local roads to the summits were closed as a result of the snow. Here's what the snow looked like on the Visible Satellite (click for animation):

Here's the actual text from the NWS warnings:

Later Wednesday, the Blizzard Warning was continued through Christmas Day: