From Great To Awesome

2015-04-18 16:04:56.000 – Michael Kyle, Weather Observer/IT Specialist

As the sun began to rise over the horizon the skies were mostly clear of clouds. Temperatures were slightly above average. The winds were light, at least they were by summit standards. The lovely start to the day was greatly appreciated since it took a while to get the wet bulb reading off the sling. As the morning transitioned into the afternoon the weather turned from mostly sunny to mostly cloudy, and then conditions just continued to worsen.

Just like the forecast was calling for a, weak area of low pressure was beginning to push south from Canada and into New Hampshire. By the middle of the afternoon the outer bands of precipitation started to be seen on the horizon, but it was all falling as virga. With so much dry air in place at the surface the precipitation was evaporating before reaching the ground. As the low pressure continued to push south, enough moisture finally moved in sending the summit into the clouds and bringing showers of snow pellets. More interestingly are the convective aspects that are currently moving through the White Mount Mountains.

While I have been writing this thunder and lightning has been flashing and crashing all around, with several direct strikes hitting to summit. The winds jumped up from about 30 mph to 45 mph with gusts up to 60 mph. As a weather nerd, today was truly an awesome day. It started off beautiful and ended with a bang, literally! Days like this are why I love to work at the Mount Washington Observatory!

Michael Kyle, Weather Observer/IT Specialist