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Hawaii may occupy a space in popular culture defined by sunny skies and warm beaches, but the island chain has its fair share of hazardous weather. This includes, contrary to what many expect, heavy snow, in a few places.

A multi-threat system known as a Kona storm is bringing heavy rain and damaging winds to Hawaii though Friday, in addition to the threat of heavy snow over the Big Island summits.

T​he National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for the summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, forecasting from 10 to 15 inches of snowfall. The summits are also under high wind warnings until Saturday morning due to potential gusts over 85 mph.

In the lower elevations, heavy rain has triggered flooding on parts of Kauai, Maui and Oahu since Thursday. Multiple reports of downed trees and power lines were received by local emergency management in Kauai, according to the National Weather Service. A wind gust to 120 mph has been clocked at the summit Haleakala on Maui.

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Travel to the Big Island summits could be difficult, if not impossible, and blowing snow may cause periods of zero visibility, according to the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

The center of low pressure is expected to pass north of Kauai through Friday, dragging a cold front eastward across the islands. In addition to winter weather at high elevations, heavy rain could cause more flash flooding and strong winds might contribute to additional power outages.

Snow typically occurs a few times a year on the peaks: Although it snows most often in cooler months between October and April at these highest elevations, it can happen any time of the year. A dusting of snow was observed at Mauna Kea in July 2015.

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We’ve even seen blizzard warnings issued for the summits in the past.

(MORE: Snow In Hawaii, Not As Strange As It Sounds)

That means all 50 states can see accumulating snow: Since Hawaii's peaks see snow a few times each year, Florida holds the distinction of being the most unusual state for accumulating snow to occur. This year was special though, with the recent Winter Storm Enzo bringing a record-breaking snowfall to the sunshine state.

Sara Tonks is a content meteorologist with weather.com and has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Georgia Tech in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences along with a master’s degree from Unity Environmental University in Marine Science.