The climate zones that are referenced are Koppen Climate Classifications. I finally found what appears to be a full list of zones on a University of Texas lecturer's web page. Then I found an article written by 3 individuals in the Department of Geography at the University of Hawaii showing the climate zones on the Big Island on NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory page. (NOAA is the National Oceanic and Atmmospheric Administration.) I'm hoping these are better sources than some of the odd-ball quotes that I've heard!
According to a combination of these two sources, Hawaii has 10 different climate zones out of 25 world-wide climate zones, varying from tropical/hot climates to periglacial or tundra climates. And you wondered why I think I need such variations in clothing for my trip to the tropics!
For anyone who is curious - and for me, in case I go looking for this information again, here's a summary of the climate zones:
| Zone | Climate Description | On the Big Island? |
|---|---|---|
| A Climates - Tropical / Hot | ||
| Af | Tropical rainforest | yes |
| Aw | Tropical wet-dry (low sun dry), savanna | yes |
| As | Tropical wet-dry (high sun dry),savanna | yes |
| Am | Tropical monsoon | yes |
| B Climates - Arid / semiarid | ||
| BWh | Dry/arid (hot) - low latitude deserts | yes |
| BWk | Dry/arid (cool) - middle latitude deserts | no |
| BSh | Semi-arid, steppe (hot) | yes |
| BSk | Semi-arid, Steppe (cool) | no |
| C Climates - Subtropical | ||
| Cwa | Humid subtropical - warm with distinctly dry winter | no |
| Cfa | Humid subtropical - East coasts | no |
| Csa | Humid subtropical (Mediterranean) - warm w/ dry hot summer | no |
| Csb | Humid subtropical (Mediterranean) - cool w/ dry cool summer | yes |
| Cfb | Marine West Coast - Mild | yes |
| Cfc | Marine West Coast - Cool | yes |
| D Climates - Temperate (Continental) | ||
| Dfa | Humid continental hot summers w/ year around precipitation | no |
| Dwa | Humid continental hot summers w/ dry winters | no |
| Dfb | Humid continental mild summer with year around rainfall | no |
| Dwb | Humid continental mild summer with dry winters | no |
| Dfc | Subarctic with cool summers and year around rainfall | no |
| Dfd | Subarctic with cold winters and year around rainfall | no |
| Dwc | Subarctic with cool summers and dry winters | no |
| Dwd | Subarctic with cold winters and dry winters | no |
| E Climates - Polar (Ice) | ||
| ET | Tundra climate | yes |
| EF | Icecap climate | no |
| H Climates - Highland areas | ||
| H | Highland climate | no |
