Watch Our 2026 Annual Meeting and Read About the Highlights

By Drew Bush

United States Representative Maggie Goodlander headlined Mount Washington Observatory’s 2026 Annual Meeting, and she set the tone right from the start. She talked about the importance of our work to not just the nation but the world as we push the boundaries of weather science.

Goodlander spoke to a full house, including more than 60 members, supporters, partners, Trustees, volunteers, and staff that gathered in-person to complement the 20 others who joined virtually via Zoom Video Conferencing. Those who attended in-person got a first glimpse of our 2026 Annual Report and the Observatory’s growing list of supporters—our membership has topped 5,500 from 3,500 just a few years ago. You can find our agenda and Annual Meeting Packet online, and watch the full Annual Meeting presentation on our YouTube channel below.

Board of Trustees President Erica Broman and I shared updates on our accomplishments and bold vision for the future. Erica talked of our five-year strategic vision and the investments it calls for in our staff and facilities. My presentation shared pictures of all that we’ve accomplished since I first began, with a nod to imminent growth in our forecasting, research, education, and development work.

In specific, we continue to exceed each pervious year’s total number of students and adults served with educational programs, topping more than 8,000 in this past year. Next year holds untold promise as we’ve received substantial support from the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Fund, The Dorr Foundation, and the John D. McGonagle Foundation to expand our school programs (school day, after school, field trips, and virtual) into New Hampshire’s Upper Valley and Lakes Region. Of course, we continued to see phenomenal growth in our Storm Scouts Summer Day Camp (which will add another week for older children this year thanks to support from the John D. McGonagle Foundation and The Agnes M. Lyndsay Trust) and refined our library membership and medical training overnight programs.

Of course, the big educational news, if you haven’t already seen it, is our brand new virtual tour of Mount Washington’s summit.

Our Mount Washington Regional Mesonet continues to expand, providing a firm future in the Granite State for meteorology that protects communities and drives innovation and economic growth. We expect to add stations in every county of the state over the next few years, with one even planned for the Isles of Shoals. This truly represents the future of weather science and our investments have attracted new research partnerships with many universities, the United States Air Force, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and Eversource Energy. In fact, we’re now hard at work on improvements to how we communicate all of our forecasts thanks to a collaboration with researchers at Northeastern University’s Roux Institute.

After our presentations, the meeting featured the awarding of our Founder’s Award to the family of Paul T. Fitzgerald, who passed away just a few months ago. Paul was a towering figure in Observatory history with a legacy that will last for many generations. You can read more in our remembrance of him here.

We wrapped up the meeting with a presentation by Patrick Scanlon, Mount Washington Avalanche Center Snow Ranger and Avalanche Forecaster, and Jay Broccolo, Observatory Director of Weather Operations, on our joint internship. The speakers covered the importance of this internship in helping us to better integrate both organizations operations and forecasts, while also highlighting the research into snow dynamics accomplished by each of the past three year’s joint winter interns.

U.S. Representative Maggie Goodlander.

Michael Fitzgerald (left) speaks on behalf of the Fitzgerald family to accept the Founders Award given to his brother Paul, who passed away on Feb. 5, 2026. Right: Rob Kirsch, Observatory Trustee and Immediate Past President.