From Hawaii's The Maui News:
Winter weather wreaks havoc across county
Snow and ice shut down Haleakala National Park’s Summit District on Sunday, while downpours and strong winds took down power lines and trees, and high surf pushed boats ashore in West and South Maui.
The wintry conditions were brought on by a powerful storm tracking southward toward the Hawaiian Islands, bringing a band of enhanced moisture and predictions of up to 3 inches of snow on the summit of Haleakala, the National Weather Service said.
Shortly after noon on Sunday, the Summit District was closed due to snowy and icy road conditions, as well as power outages throughout the district, park spokesperson Nancy Stimson said. The closure was scheduled to remain in effect through at least 9 a.m. today, and today’s sunrise viewing was also canceled. Maui County officials also warned the public not to drive toward the summit.
Snowfall (except on Mauna Kea) is incredibly uncommon:
The Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area also got some snow — a rare event. Snow reached almost to Olinda in 1903, to Polipoli in 1918 and to a mile below the summit in 1920, according to Jill Engledow, a former Maui News reporter and editor who reviews the newspaper’s archives for the weekly feature “Looking Back Through The Maui News.”
The words you are thinking of are "Solar Cycle" - we are entering a Grand Minimum and a corresponding couple hundred years of colder than normal weather.
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