From No Snow to More Snow

2012-11-07 23:48:07.000 – Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist

A winter-esque Adams and Madison this morning.

It never ceases to amaze me how different the weather and scenery can be in just a weeks’ time. Last week when my shift headed down, Hurricane/Super-storm Sandy was still winding down with the summit (and NH) still on the warm side of the storm. Temperatures were well above freezing, it was raining, and there wasn’t a trace of snow/ice/rime anywhere on the summits or in the valleys below. In fact, I was able to open up my homes windows again on the start of my off week. From the peak to the valley floor, it felt and looked more like Augusts than late October.

However, as our off week ended this morning, it definitely felt like winter from home all the way to my second ‘home’ here on the summit. My house in Berlin had some patches of snow, widespread frost, and temperatures in the single digits. While it was cold, it was one of those rare mornings that I was looking forward to getting up to the summit for the temperatures alone. While my house was in the single digits, the summit was sitting in the lower 20s, a nice warm up; and one of those rare mornings you could say you wanted to escape to Mount Washington for its ‘warmth’. But despite the warmer temperatures on top, the mountains were now reflecting their proper season. As we ascended this morning for shift change, we found snow/ice/rime coating the peaks down to about 2000 feet with a Nor’easter on the verge of delivering even more winter weather. So let’s hope the wintry season holds for this shift. But being a meteorologist and having that nagging ability to see the future (of weather), I know not to dream too big. But ultimately, we’ll just have to wait and see…

Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist