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2011-07-23 12:56:23.000 – Jaclyn Ritzman,  Summit Intern

A lenticular cloud to our east.

So far this week has been quite busy up here on the summit. Wednesday, visibility was extremely limited due to dense haze. These conditions have continued throughout the end of the week. While the northeast and most of the Midwest have been experiencing a dangerous heat wave, daytime highs have been in the mid-60s up here on the summit. Many visitors to the summit made the trip up to escape the heat in the valley. Watching many locations in the valley and down along the coast of Maine and New Hampshire set records with temperatures in the triple digits made me extremely thankful that I was up on the summit. To me, excessive heat is a few days with temperatures in the upper 80s to lower 90s.

Friday night we had a decent sunset, but the highlight for me was the lenticular clouds that had formed just to the east of the summit. It was a nice quiet evening before Seek the Peak began early Saturday morning. Like many of the pervious posts have discussed, Seek the Peak is the Mount Washington Observatories largest fundraising event. Weather conditions at the beginning were a little dreary but as the day progressed conditions improved tremendously! Not only did clear conditions welcome the hikers but a sky full of lenticular clouds did as well, which is always a treat to any visitor to the summit. We spent most of the afternoon giving tours to those who participated in Seek the Peak and our members. It was great to get to meet and teach the hikers about the weather we see up here on Mount Washington and show them our instrumentation. The after party down at the base of the mountain should be fun, as I will be dressing up in one of the PrimaLoft mascots. Hopefully it isn’t too hot down at the base! Thanks to all of those who participated in today’s Seek the Peak, it means a lot to everyone who works for the Mount Washington Observatory.

Jaclyn Ritzman,  Summit Intern