Hawaii’s “Big Island” saw some winter weather at one of its highest points this week, when snowfall blanketed the top of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano just over 13,800 feet tall.

A storm broke through and deposited the snow Sunday and Monday, with the summit road being closed through Monday due to the conditions, according to a pair of posts from the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station.

Due to the mountain’s height, temperatures can drop below freezing at any time all year, even though the rest of the island of Hawaii has a generally tropical climate. In this instance, incoming moisture from the east helped produce the snow, National Weather Service meteorologist Maureen Ballard told The Associated Press.

There was a brief dusting on Sunday followed by about 2 inches of snowfall Monday, NWS meteorologist Derek Wroe told SFGATE.

Snow also impacted another volcano on the island of Hawaii, Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 2022. The summit of Mauna Loa was closed Monday and parts of Tuesday due to “winter weather conditions,” Volcanoes National Park explained in a pair of posts on Facebook.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.