Hello Halo…

2007-03-20 10:39:12.000 – Brent Antkowiak,  Summit Intern

Halo Over the Summit…

Yesterday was a fantastic day for hiking around the White Mountains, with light winds and partly cloudy skies becoming overcast towards the afternoon. Jim was feeling a little under the weather, so I took over the observations for most of the day, which forced me outside at least once an hour to get some great views and much needed time away from the computer screen. As a thin layer of cirrostratus clouds moved in during the afternoon, a nearly perfect halo formed around the sun. Halos typically form when light rays from the sun are refracted by ice crystals associated with thin, high level clouds, such as cirrostratus. This event lasted for several hours and made for some great pictures, as you can see.

The vernal equinox occurs at 8:07 EDT this evening, which means the first full day of spring comes tomorrow. You wouldn’t know it on the summits though, as today we are gusting to over 100mph, with temperatures near 0 degrees and light snow. Mother nature does appear to be trying to help us out a though, as temps will begin to rise overnight tonight, and winds will lighten up enough to make shift change day and the first day of spring actually feel like spring here on the summit. At least, that is what the magic 8 ball says….

Brent Antkowiak,  Summit Intern