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2010-07-29 18:14:57.000 – Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist

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I somehow managed to miss the muddle of meetings yesterday, and arrived at a (surprise) foggy summit this morning. After the heat of the valley (it got over 90 degrees in Burlington yesterday, that’s HOT) the temperature of 50 degrees was blissful relief.

Temperature continued to fall and the clouds did eventually lift for a couple of hours, providing the perfect opportunity to use the sling psychrometer. As I cheerfully shivered on the windy, chilly deck, my nose caught a whiff of a familiar odor. It smelled like fall.

By way of past comments, my love for fall has been splashed across the Observatory’s web site. The smell immediately sent me into euphoria. I know fall is still a couple months away, but the fall season on the summit is just around the corner. After this week, we’ll be saying good bye to our first summer intern, followed closely by the second and third. We’ll welcome a couple more for the next season. The crisp air will start to permeate the hazy humidity that has persisted all summer. I can almost see the blazing colors hiding beneath the brilliant green of the leaves.

An underlying sense of panic accompanies the scenes of fall developing in my mind’s eye. I’m not ready for fall yet. I don’t think anyone is. Which is a good thing, because we’ve got at least another month of summer. August marks the beginning of the transition, but it means we’ve got a little bit of time.

Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist