Back to work!

2010-04-08 22:16:00.000 – Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist

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It was nice to come back to the summit yesterday to begin a shift for the first time in three weeks. I ended up taking a partially unplanned vacation during the first part of what was supposed to be my previous shift. As you may remember, the actual shift change was delayed two weeks ago due to poor weather. I was only planning on being on the mountain that Wednesday through Saturday, and with the delay in shift change and uncertainty surrounding transportation through Saturday, I decided to stay in the valley and work out of the Weather Discovery Center for those days. Then Sunday through Tuesday I took my long planned vacation days to go to Killington, Vermont to take a ski instructor certification exam, which I am happy to say I passed.

In appearance, much has changed on the summit in the three weeks I have been gone. Of course, such record breaking warmth will have a tendency to do that. Since the beginning of April, we have broken three daily record high temperatures and equaled one. For a couple of those new record highs, perhaps the term ‘broken’ is an understatement. As always, you can take a look at those records for yourself by viewing our monthly F6 form.

As is typically the case on Mount Washington (unless you are on the other shift), significant change in the weather is on the way. Even as I write this, the temperature has dropped below freezing and will continue to drop into the low 20’s tomorrow. By the weekend, we will likely be seeing temperatures in the teens. Freezing and frozen precipiation is also likely. Of course, none of this is out of the ordinary for this time of year. In fact, the weather we have been seeing lately is far more out of the ordinary. The snow pack on and around the summit, the (typically) long spring skiing season in the Whites, and myself are extremely thankful for this return to something more typical of this time of year!

Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist