Heavy showers soaked Oahu on Tuesday.

Waikiki's beautiful beaches were deserted as tourists tried to stay dry.

"I came here before and it was very hot so I thought it was going to be hotter. I brought a lot of shorts and tops that I didn't get to wear," said Pat Slemmer of New Orleans.

While it felt chilly, the actual temperatures near sea level were just a little cooler than normal.

"(It's) sort of a wind chill effect. It's sort of the drier air evaporating the moisture off your skin more rapidly so it feels colder as far as our skin, but with thermometers, they're reading a temperature fairly close to normal," explained Tom Birchard of the National Weather Service.

Birchard said the coldest air was over Maui and the Big Island. The summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa were covered in snow.

A Big Island resident also told KGMB9 hail fell outside her home a few miles from the Kona International Airport.

On Maui, park rangers closed the summit of Haleakala due to ice on the roads and high winds.

"(It's) a wintry mix - snow, freezing rain, and then some areas on the upper summits of Haleakala it's slush now and it may rise above freezing during the day today and then tonight, dip below freezing again," Birchard said.

Tourists in Waikiki did not get the warm Hawaiian vacation they expected. But one group from New Orleans didn't let the rain dampen their spirits.

"This was a relief just to come out here to this nice tropical type weather," said visitor Alvin Ferrouillet.

"It would be nicer if it were warmer, but it's so beautiful here," said visitor Judi Guth.

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