Yes, it snowed in Hawaii this week – as much as 10 inches, in fact. But don't panic, it's actually a fairly common occurrence. "While most people think of the islands as a warm, tropical paradise, it’s not uncommon to see snow on the volcanic peaks of the Big Island," said Weather.com meteorologist Caitlin Kaiser in an online report.

More than 10 inches of snow and wind chills in the 20s were recorded at the summits of the Big Island in Hawaii on Monday. Most of Wyoming, by

Strong winds will make travel difficult on Monday, and forecasters warned of more than half a foot of snow on some mountains.

All Hawaii islands remain under a flood watch through Monday afternoon as a Kona low weather system continues to drench the state. The Kona low is north of Kauai and will move south through Monday, before heading west and weakening Wednesday and Thursday, forecasters said.

Today: Windy. Cloudy with scattered showers. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Highs 73 to 79. East winds up to 25 mph increasing to 10 to 30 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Kona means "leeward," which is the side of the mountain that is often void of precipitation. However, when the moist air from the south and southeast rises up these mountains, it condenses and falls as precipitation.

While the exact path and volume of rain from the storm system is still unclear, the National Weather Service has issued a statewide flood watch running from late today through Monday afternoon for the system. “On the Big Island and Maui, the greatest flood risk will be on southeast slopes,” NWS reported.