GMA Arrives on The Summit

2007-11-16 16:35:51.000 – Kyle Paddleford,  Meteorologist

The First Trip

What a change today brings. Yesterday there was nearly 2 inches of rain that fell on the summit as temperatures reached the upper thirties. We watched as our snowpack slowly dwindled down to pretty much nothing. Temperatures were slow to fall but once they did, they kept on going. Wintry precipitation began to fall in earnest just before midnight and so far the summit has picked up 8.8” from this storm and it is still snowing and blowing. Winds have picked up this afternoon and so far we have had a peak gust of 110 mph. With winds averaging in the 80 mph range over the last few hours, it gave the crew some training time for the century club. For those of you who do not know about the century club, it is when you can walk around the entire observation deck with sustained winds of at least 100 mph without falling. It is a very prestigious club with only a handful of successful journeys. According to Ken Rancourt, Director of Summit Operations, there is a very noticeable difference in the 80 to 100 mph range. I’ll take his word for it, but hopefully we will get our chance someday. As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.”

The first wave of the Good Morning America crew and their gear arrived on the summit a few hours ago. That makes two successful trips up the road in some pretty inclement weather for the day. More trips to the summit will take place over the next few days to shuttle the additional GMA crew and supplies to the Observatory. Most of the gear has been unpacked and is in the process of being set up in the rotunda of the Sherman Adams building. It will all result in a national broadcast from the Observatory on Monday morning which you can read about here.

Kyle Paddleford,  Meteorologist