Brrrr…in May

2008-05-28 17:23:01.000 – Stacey Kawecki,  Observer

Just a little bit colder!

This is not going to be a comment about the trials and tribulations of the imminent Shift Change Day, even if it is a Wednesday. Something a little more exciting happened today…we broke a daily low temperature record! The previous record for May 28th was 19 degrees, and this morning the temperature bottomed out at a ‘mere’ 16 degrees. I’ll tell you something…it is quite a change from a humid, muggy, 90 degree day in NJ to a crisp 18 degree summit with rime, 60 mph winds, and a biting wind chill at -4 degrees. All in less than twenty four hours! A new daily low temperature has not been recorded on the summit in over a year (that day was a little chillier than today, at 37 degrees below zero in March of 2007).

The cause was the same that had many people waiting in the terminals of the Newark Liberty Airport in NJ, and then waiting in line behind 18 planes for take off: an energetic cold front. In NJ, the frontal passage triggered a couple of thunderstorms. On the summit of Mount Washington (the home of the “World’s Worst Weather”), temperature dropped only thirty degrees through the course of the day.

Saturday, June 14th, the Mount Washington Observatory is hosting the Annual Meeting. It’s an excellent way to spend the evening: the Annual Members Meeting, followed by cocktails and appetizers, then an excellent dinner and a special presentation. The topic of the presentation is “Mount Washington birds and Butterflies Can Change the World”. Sooo…if you’re reading this, you’re obviously already at the website, check it out and make your reservation today!

Stacey Kawecki,  Observer