Winter’s Back!

2014-05-19 20:20:40.000 – Tom Padham,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist

Sunrise yesterday, note the lack of snow!

After a balmy beginning to our week with temperatures climbing into the 50s, winter has made a return to the higher summits today, with temperatures falling into the 20s and snow falling for nearly the entire day. Only yesterday standing out on the observation deck in just a light jacket, marveling at the lack of snow across the summit during sunrise. After melting all of the snow cover across the summit by the beginning of the week to just a few scattered patches, it feels like the calendar has jumped back to April. Currently we have about 2 inches of new snowfall, with more falling as of this writing.

Is snow in May unusual for the summit of Mount Washington? Nope! The summit sees 12.2 inches of snowfall on average for the month of May, with this May currently up to 14.2 inches after a very snowy beginning of the month. Going into June snowfall becomes much more infrequent, with the summit only averaging about 1 inch of snowfall. Still snowfall can happen every month of the year up here, and it’s not out of the question to have snow showers during the middle of July or August. With that said and the summer season right around the corner, being prepared for the drastically different conditions across the higher summits than the valleys below is imperative to any successful trip up here. Be sure to check out our Higher Summits Forecast, and be well informed and prepared before making your journey up to New England’s highest peak.

Tom Padham,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist