An Internship at the top of New England
2016-07-10 10:36:55.000 – Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist
Although it’s only July the deadline for our fall internship program is only 5 days away making me think back to my internship on the summit, which led to my eventual career here at the observatory. Back in 2011 I applied for the internship, and was very excited to hear back and be able to work my way through the interview process and get a chance to see the summit for an in-person interview. The interview took place in late April for this summer internship and the weather for my first visit to the summit did not disappoint!
After driving through Pinkham Notch with dark and ominous skies all around I began the trek up in the Snowcat with the observatory staff and got to learn more about the work of the observatory. We also talked about the weather for the day and the conditions we were expecting to face on the summit. Temperatures were only in the mid-20s atop the mountain, with a line of strong thunderstorms quickly approaching from the west. We arrived on the summit just in time. With the storm arriving only a few minutes after we safely made it up and unloaded the gear out of the vehicle.
Snow and sleet began falling, accompanied by several direct (and very loud!) lightning strikes to the summit. Thunder-snow on day 1! I felt very lucky to see such interesting weather and was in awe of the power of nature. In the following days I accepted the invitation to join the observatory as an intern for the summer season, and had an amazing time living and working at this very special place. After finishing my degree for a year I came back to the observatory and have enjoyed working here ever since!
If you’re interested in learning more about an internship on the summit or also in applying for the fall internship coming up, now is the time! It’s a really unique experience, and one that you’ll remember for a lifetime. For more information head to https://www.mountwashington.org/about-us/careers-and-internships/internship-program.aspx
Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist
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