First early shift change of the season

2013-11-27 17:56:48.000 – Tom Padham,  Weather Observer

Our snowy truck arrives on the summit

Due to today’s large storm system moving up the coast, we decided to move up our normal shift change to Tuesday. This is an infrequent occurrence, but it does happen from time to time during the winter season when road conditions may make travel up and down the Auto Road unsafe. Last night we arrived at the base of the Auto Road around 5:30 PM, with the storm just beginning to knock on our door in NH as snow was falling moderately in Pinkham Notch and the roads were beginning to become snow covered. Luckily, the road was in great shape as it was plowed earlier in the day by State Park, and we made it to the summit in about 40 minutes.

With only myself, observer Brian Fitzgerald, and intern Sam up this week for Thanksgiving, it is sure to be a busy week keeping everything running smoothly. I am looking forward to some more wintry weather after the brief period of heavy rain we saw today, with much colder temperatures and more snow to add to our ground cover. With that said, I’m also looking forward to the challenges ahead (hopefully not too many) and also to some great food on Thanksgiving!

Tom Padham,  Weather Observer