A windy respite from the heat!

2006-08-03 07:50:42.000 – Jim Salge,  Observer

Leaning against the winds…

Beach towels were major items of absolute necessity all over New England yesterday, as an intense heat wave put most of the Granite State into the 90s, forcing people to congregate at the lakes, rivers and beaches! Before ascending the mountain for shift change yesterday, I stopped by one of my favorite swimming holes, and already found people cooling off at 7AM! It was hot…

Fortunately, Mount Washington is a traditional respite from the heat, as the all time high temperature is only 72 degrees at the station. However, when I arrived, I found that people were even using beach towels up top! The method of use however was quite different, as the summit weather was about as extreme yesterday as you can get during the summer up here, and the towels in many people’s cars were used as blankets, shawls and general cover for a rather large population of under prepared visitors dressed for heat.

High winds battered the Observatory through the day, averaging near 60mph with a peak gust of 97mph. Temperatures struggled to get out of the 50s, topping out at only 64 degrees, and a few strong thunderstorms blew up over the White Mountains producing torrential downpours. The fog, produced from squeezing all of the moisture out of the soupy valley air was unimaginably thick (see the picture above) and visibility was not much more than a few feet. And the people…amazed, awed, chilled, excited and soaked…all the emotions from experiences that make for a memorable day on Mount Washington!

Jim Salge,  Observer