Science in the Mountains

 Dr. Jim Steenburgh, Professor, Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Utah

 

State license plates and tourism brochures boast that Utah ski areas receive the "greatest snow on Earth," but is there anything special about Utah's snow? Many argue that the "dryness" of the snow is key; however, snowfall in nearby Colorado and Wyoming can be just as dry. Join Dr. Jim Steenburgh, as he unpacks what characteristics of snow and Utah's climatology make the Wasatch a world-famous ski destination; why Little Cottonwood Canyon is a skier's but a very dangerous place for avalanches if Mother Nature is left to her own devices; and how climate change will ultimately affect the Greatest Snow on Earth.

 

Join MWOBS research staff for our annual check-in on Observatory-led research projects featuring Weather Observer/Research Specialist Karl Philippoff and Summit Intern Myah Rather. Karl will provide an update on the ongoing Near-Surface Lapse Rate research project that is looking at how near-surface air temperatures vary with elevation on the eastern slopes of Mount Washington. Updates will also include average annual lapse rates, along with seasonal, monthly, and daily variations and how these data could be applied to hydrological and ecological research around the White Mountains region, as well as New England.

 

In other work, intern Myah Rather will provide a summary of her investigation of Rain on Snow (ROS) events on Mount Washington to determine if weather extremes are occurring more frequently. Additionally, Myah's work aims to study the seasonality of these changes on the summit of Mount Washington with an overall assessment of changes in weather averages on the summit. This study will investigate whether there is any change in average precipitation causing a shift in the ratio between rain and snow.

 

 

The Mount Washington Observatory Regional Mesonet (MWRM) is a network of 18 remote meteorological monitoring stations that record temperature and relatively humidity, with additional variables at many locations across the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Intense cold, high precipitation amounts, icing, and hurricane-force winds requires rugged instrumentation, an innovative radio-communications relay approach, and carefully selected sites that balance ideal measuring environments with station survivability. Join MWOBS Director of Technology Keith Garrett and Director of Weather Operations Jay Broccolo, to learn about the task of building and maintaining this network, and how data collected from the MWRM informs forecasters, recreationalists and researchers alike.