A Taste of Spring

2016-02-01 13:23:49.000 – Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations

This El Niño-influenced winter we’re currently in the midst of continues to throw a plethora of monkey wrenches and curveballs our way. The seemingly constant oscillation of warm-up to cool-down has been quite intriguing to witness from the perspective of the Northeast’s highest peak. No matter how many cold and snowy days are thrown at us, we continue to harbor that feeling that it won’t last long, and another warm-up is not far down the road.

After a fairly-average shift with respect to temperature, last night harbored a remarkable warm-up as the mercury soared to 34 degrees F. Temperatures remained above freezing for approx. 12 hours, which resulted in a brief yet significant thaw around the summit station. Brief thaws such as this are not unusual in the winter months on Mount Washington, but it’s nevertheless interesting to observe and record.

 

In the wake of that warm-up, a cold front came charging through earlier today, ramping winds up to a peak of 125 MPH on the summit! With colder air rushing in behind the front, temperatures will be back down into the single digits by tonight.

But we’re not getting comfortable there! Yet another shot of milder air is headed our way on Wednesday, which could harbor more above-freezing temperatures and even plain rain at 6288′!

Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations