Chilly Comments

2013-01-01 23:16:42.000 – Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist

NULL

‘Brrrr’ is the word to bring in the New Year!

It’s been one of the most topsy-turvy weather weeks that I can remember.

It began immediately upon our arrival, as a major Nor’easter shot up the coast, prompting a last-minute early shift change. We received nearly 16 inches of snow with that event, with winds gusting up to 112 mph, creating massive snow drifts around the summit and on the Auto Road. A second winter storm on Saturday brought another 6 inches of snow.

The weather was just getting started with us, however. Every day of our shift, with one lone exception, has seen a gust in excess of hurricane force. On top of that, we’ve had four days with at least one gust in excess of 100 mph, which may very well turn into five as winds are expected to remain strong tonight and early tomorrow.

Sunday was the most impressive of the windy days, with winds averaging in excess of 90 mph for fifteen straight hours, and winds peaking at 118 mph! On top of that, temperatures that night plummeted to an unexpected low of 16 degrees below zero, resulting in some very dangerous wind chills on the summit.

Winds remained strong for New Year’s Eve, gusting up to 112 mph, and temperatures struggling to climb through the single digits (above zero).

Another cold frontal passage this morning has sent the mercury tumbling once more. As I compose this comment, our thermometers are reading a frosty -18F, with winds gusting up to 90 mph. The wind chill at the moment is a frigid 62 degrees below zero!

After one more chilly day on the rockpile tomorrow, we’re all set to head back into more reasonable temperatures on shift change day!

Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist