Why Is There No Snow on Mauna Kea?

Picture from Hawaii Tribune Herald

I have seen a little snow on Mauna Kea this winter but not very much, and it seems to disappear quickly. What is causing the lack of snow?

There seems to be two reasons for the absence of snow: lack of precipitation and the flow of the jet stream. Scientists have been saying that there has just been too few storms to produce any precipitation for snow. There was one in December, one in January, and one in February. This lack of storms means no moisture to fall and freeze. Scientists are also saying that we are experiencing a weak El Nino effect and with it a course change of our jet stream. The jet stream is a moving river of air that circles the globe above 20,000 feet. The jet stream ususally pushes storms our way, but due to El Nino, the jet stream has been pushing storms from west to east. An article in the Hawaii Tribune Herald states that there is still hope for snow on the white mountain, if it happens before April or May 1st.