Signs of Spring on the Horizon? 2015-03-04 20:45:35.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   After a very cold and snowy February across New England, we may be seeing signs of changes ahead for the month of March. After a chilly next few days with arctic air locked over the region as it has been for much of the winter, temperatures look to be in the 30s and even lower 40s by the end of the weekend across all of New Hampshire. What’s responsible for this expected warm up? The main driving force is a major change in the jet stream.

Second Coldest February on Record for the Summit 2015-03-03 14:09:31.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   A project that has been ongoing since I arrived here back in December of 2005 is the digitizing of our weather records into a database. If you are a long-time follower of the Observer Comments (i.e. this blog), you know some of the difficulties our interns/full-time staff have encountered in this process, first in entering the data but also regarding quality control of the data. Year by year we have chipped away at entering our data and are (hopefully) nearing the light at

Profiling More Precipitation 2015-03-02 20:01:13.000 - Nate Iannuccillo, Summit Intern   You have probably noticed that we have gotten quite a bit of snow this winter, and if you have been paying attention to the forecasts, you know that there’s more en route to New England tomorrow night. However, this storm system will be a little different from those experienced in the past month. It will begin as a typical “Alberta Clipper” with low pressure forming over northwestern Canada. This time, instead of moving towards New England, upper air patterns will keep the low pressure center far to our North.

Wanted: Summer Interns! 2015-03-01 21:41:39.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Every summer, fall, and winter, the Observatory searches for interns who are interested in learning about extreme weather while assisting with the daily tasks required to run a mountaintop weather station. We are currently seeking enthusiastic students, recent graduates, and qualified weather enthusiasts who are looking for an adventure this summer! The last day to submit applications is this Thursday, March 5, 2015. To find out more information about this exciting opportunity, and to apply, please see our Internship page.    Kaitlyn O'Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

New Webcam Views from Wildcat! 2015-02-28 20:21:57.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   We are excited to unveil our new and improved camera pointing towards the Presidential Range from the summit of Wildcat Mountain Ski Area! This includes several different improved zoomed-in views of Huntington Ravine, Tuckerman Ravine and the Gulf of Slides! As a snow lover, I am personally really excited to see this happen! These pictures can be accessed by members with their log-on here, and a zoomed-out picture of Tuckerman, Huntington and the summit is available to the public. You won’t only get access to these

Anti-Jokes and Anti-Cyclones 2015-02-27 14:43:09.000 - Nate Iannuccillo, Summit Intern   So why was 6 afraid of 7?   It wasn’t. Numbers are not emotional and thus incapable of feeling fear.   (Cue the laugh track?)   Ok, enough with the anti-jokes, what the heck is an anticyclone?   As you hopefully inferred by noticing the prefix, an anticyclone is essentially the antithesis of our standard cyclone.   But what exactly does that mean?   First, let’s consider our standard mid-latitude cyclone in the northern hemisphere. These are the typical types of storm systems that have been rolling through New

Marching in with More Snow 2015-02-26 12:37:32.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   As February vacation week continues for most of southern New Hampshire, it looks as though Mother Nature may deliver some additional fresh snow before vacation ends!   Currently an area of low pressure is sitting well to our east, and will bring cloud cover through the evening into early Friday morning. Once the coastal low passes, strong high pressure will quickly build in from the west, bringing persistently clear skies through the weekend. Things will change by the end of the weekend, however, as another area

Media Exposure from a Wild Winter 2015-02-25 09:30:32.000 - Caleb Meute, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Despite yesterday’s technological issues with my connection with The Weather Channel, I was still able to discuss the extreme climate that we deal with on a daily basis here on the summit of Mount Washington. With the severity of this winter, myself and Kaitlyn O’ Brien from the other shift have had quite a bit of media exposure. This has been great for the Observatory because we have been able to connect with different TV channels and even radio stations as far away as Los

Home Sweet Home 2015-02-24 11:45:21.000 - Mike Carmon, Interim Director of Summit Operations   Stop and look around once in a while. Take it all in. You never know how long it will last. These thoughts have been running through my head the last few months quite a bit, since I left my post as a Weather Observer for the position of Interim Director of Summit Operations, traditionally based at our valley office in North Conway. For many years, day-in and day-out, I had the privilege of waking up to one of the most spectacular views that New England has

Plenty of Snow to Go Around 2015-02-23 17:11:50.000 - Adam Freierman, Summit Intern   An excellent school vacation week for skiing, with some sunny days and plenty of fresh snow, ended with a bang as yet another storm delivered on Saturday night. With snow falling heavily at times, and that dreaded mixed precipitation remaining far away from New Hampshire’s ski areas, skiers across the state found at least 2” of new snow awaiting them on the slopes Sunday morning, with most resorts more in the 4-8” range. On top of last Wednesday’s snow this means that packed powder conditions on