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2006-04-03 10:09:02.000 – Ryan Knapp,  Observer

Greens and Adirondacks…

What a difference a day makes. Today is clear and calm. Yesterday, although windy, were some of the clearest conditions I have experienced up here, as you can see the Adirondacks in this picture taken last night…

Saturday on the other hand, was chaotic from the time I woke up until the time that I went to sleep. I woke up at 1:30PM and ventured up to the weather room right as the edge of an approaching line of rain was heading our way. We were debating whether or not we would have any thunderstorms. As the line was approaching, we kept getting calls asking for our opinion on if any thunderstorms would develop. We stated that if any would strike it would be within the hour. Sure enough, the next hour saw four strikes on the summit. It’s weird, I have been under strikes that hit the building I was in but never in the clouds with the strikes. It’s an odd noise and feeling not being able to see the storm the bolts are coming from.

For the rest of the afternoon, it was a mix of heavy rains, small hail, grauple, freezing rain and snow. Winds were hurricane force from the start of the thunderstorms all the way through my shift that ended at 5AM Sunday. Glaze ice was forming on objects at a high rate once the freezing rain started. There were times when four inch thick pieces of ice had to be knocked of the instruments. We would deice the objects and in the short time it took to get back in, they were refrozen. To add to an already hectic schedule, the time change altered my morning routine. So the whole morning I felt like I was playing catch up. By the time my shift ended I felt like someone told me to spin around really fast then try to run in a straight line. A chaotic experience, sure, but one that I couldn’t get at any other job in the world.

Ryan Knapp,  Observer