The tropical island paradise may be better known for sunny beach lounging than snowball fights – but that hasn’t stopped a festive snowstorm delivering blankets of snow. 

The snowfall has lead to road closured on the way to the summit of Mauna Kea at an elevation of 9,200ft.

And winter storm warnings are in place at both Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.

Ahead of the drift, a Weather Channel forecast said: “Deep tropical moisture is pooling ahead of a cold front that will sweep across the Hawaiian Islands into early Thursday morning.

“This moisture will not only fuel heavy rain, but also snowfall, primarily above 12,000 feet in elevation.”

However snow is far from a stranger to the Big Island  – with great sheets covering Hawaii’s mountains every year. 

The 13,800-foot volcano Mauna Kea as well as the 13,600-foot Mauna Loa are regularly subject to wintry weather warnings at this time of year.

Haleakala, a volcano that stands at 10,000 feet on the island of Maui, also regularly receives snowfall in the winter months.

In the UK snow is likely in some higher altitude areas as a period of cooler temperatures and higher precipitation is expected.

The Met Office’s forecast for Christmas Day said there could be: “Rain, occasionally heavy, will move across northern and western parts, with the chance of snow in eastern Scotland.”

It added it would be “mostly mild and cloudy in the southeast (and) cold, showery across northern Scotland.”

Met Office Meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: “Snowy scenes across central parts of Britain may have added to the festive mood recently, but it appears we have peaked too soon.

“In the run up to Christmas, it is going to turn increasingly mild and rather than a white Christmas, for many of us, it is going to be a windy Christmas and Boxing Day.”