Hey There Winter, Nice of You to Return

2012-11-24 19:56:39.000 – Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist

Star Trails from Weds and Thurs night.

Snow, rime, cold, and winds have finally returned tonight after a long absence from the summit; and the current crew couldn’t be happier. For this time of year, temperatures should be averaging in the upper teens (Fahrenheit), winds should be averaging around 40 mph, snow should be averaging around 41 inches, and fog should be obscuring our views. However, an area of high pressure that built in on the 14th and hung around until the 22nd kept us anything but normal. The daily average temperatures were in the mid 20s or warmer, winds were averaging well below 30 mph and mostly in the single digits, the meager 6.1 inches of snow at the start of the month all but melted, and we remained nearly fog and cloud free over the entire period. It was a long period of what most would label ‘nice’ weather, but too much of a good thing can start to wear on you.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not like we weren’t taking advantage of the nice weather – getting outside more than usual for November, finishing up loose ends on the summer task list, repairing and checking instruments, and taking in the full spectrum of the night skies and endless vistas day and/or night. But then you start thinking ahead you start to wonder – will our intern get to ride up in the snow tractor before ending his internship in December, how will the lack of snow affect water tables, or the ski/winter industries, etc., how will the sudden change back to winter conditions affect underprepared hikers who have been lulled by the false sense of nice weather over the past week, etc.? For most of these, only time will tell, but the good news is that unlike the past 8 days, the upcoming 8 days look to be making a turn around to more normalized late-fall/winter conditions. So, the moral of this comment: if you dislike winter, hopefully you enjoyed the past 8 days; if you like winter, you can now look forward to the next 8 days.

Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist