An Experience Worth 1,000 More

By Mitchell Tsokatos

Me and the summit sign once winter really got going. Taken 11/2/25.

Unfortunately, my time on Mount Washington as an intern has come to an end. After six weeks of living atop the tallest mountain in the northeast, I can safely say that I will never experience anything else like it in my life. From the beginning, we were introduced to the amazing sights that being atop the summit of Mount Washington provides with a clear day. After one of the driest Octobers on record, me and my co-intern Cassie were left wondering, “Where’s the extreme weather?” As soon as it became November, Mount Washington made sure to show us that extreme weather. From the start of November to my last day on November 19^th, the summit received over 60” inches of snow! As an Alabamian, I don’t think I had witness that many inches of snow in my entire life time, let alone in nearly 3 weeks.

My favorite picture I took of the summit cat himself, Nimbus.

To reflect on my time at the summit, it was fantastic. At the beginning we had wonderful volunteers that did everything that they could to assist with living on the summit, from making dinners, to keeping us company, and assisting us keeping things clean. It was nice having other people up there and learning about them and their life experiences. I also don’t think I had a single bad meal from them! Of course, I also got to meet the celebrity himself, Nimbus. Throughout my time, I gave him plenty of pets, cuddled with him tons, and fed him his favorite wet food that he’d beg me for as I made it.

My first few weeks were certainly a learning process as I became familiar with summit operations. I relearned forecasting some as it had been a bit since producing a full-fledged forecast discussion. Making the higher summits forecast reminded me of how fun it is, and I quickly got into the swing of things and improved my writing. Additionally, I was introduced to many facets of public communication. Giving tours of the weather station was something I was really nervous about at first, but thanks to the training I received as well as enjoying it more than I thought I would, by the end of the second week everything went as smooth as butter. Then, we had to produce radio forecasts as well as do the morning AMC radio call. While these didn’t make me quite as nervous, I wasn’t sure how easy it’d be. With my enjoyment of forecasting though and (thankfully) getting to re-record my mess ups, I got a hang of that quickly. To cap off the end of the public season, I got to experience the northern lights for the first time as well. That blew my mind and experiencing that on the summit was one of my favorite memories.

My view of the northern lights on October 1st, 2025.

The second half of the fall internship was plenty different from the first half. The building closed to the public, and we were left as the only people on the summit for quite a few weeks (besides hikers and skiers braving the cold). Volunteers also were no longer there. Fortunately, my co-intern Cassie, our day observer and mentor Alex, our night observer Ryan H., and our museum attendant Corbin (while he was there before the museum closed) were all wonderful company. Many jigsaw puzzles were completed and conversations about different aspects of life were had that I enjoyed practically every second of.  So while we were isolated from the world atop the tallest peak in the Northeast, I never felt uncomfortable or alone.

Once the snow started to fall, we had to break out the shovels. Again, being from the south shoveling snow was not something I ever needed to do. I quickly learned how awful it was when ice was mixed in though! Of course, since interns assist with weather operations, I had to brave the top of the tower to keep our instruments in good order. With intense winds up to 100 mph, low visibility, and icy conditions, it was not easy. Climbing the top of the tower quite literally takes your breath away with northwest winds blowing into your face. It was tough, the most intense thing I’ve done in my life probably, but it was thrilling and rewarding to keep the instruments clear of ice and support the near century long climate record at the Mount Washington Observatory. Also, I don’t think anyone’s ever quite ready for the riming and snow drifts that the summit can accrue. Most will never see anything like it in their lifetimes.

A comparison of the view outside the weather window. Top was on September 3rd, 2025 and bottom was on November 15th, 2025.

Also, as an intern, I had to complete a research project. My project attempted to produce a chart that would improve the scientific communication of winter weather outlooks to the general public. It used data points from the global scale atmospheric phenomena known as teleconnections and related them to the observations observed on the summit. With the long-term record of teleconnections and the long-term climate record from the observatory, we could relate observations all the way back to 1950. Specifically, we took a look at the El Nino Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation. After relating those indices to temperature and snowfall observations at the summit, we were able to pinpoint specific grouping of above/below average values in certain phases of the teleconnections. Then, we could look at the Climate Prediction Center’s winter outlook and support their decision from their charts with the chart that I had produced. It was very satisfying to see the results of my weeks of work, and I had a wonderful scientific committee that would help guide and support my research.

Me in comparison to the crazy snowdrifts that had developed by mid-November! Taken on 11/15/25.

In summary, I don’t think I could have spent the fall in a better way. I was surrounded by a wonderful group of people and got to do the work that I had spent six years of school learning. I also experienced weather to the extremes that I never thought I would in my life. Starting on a clear day felt fitting, but the summit clearing up on my final day to let me take in the sights of an extreme winter, was the perfect cherry on top. I thank the group of people who accepted me as an intern and allowed me to have this experience. If you are a young meteorologist or someone with an Earth Sciences background, take this internship. You won’t regret a second of it.