Temporary Snowpack Setback 2014-12-26 13:42:45.000 - Caleb Meute, Weather Observer / Education Specialist   As you’re likely aware, a potent low pressure system brought record breaking warm air and copious amounts of rain into New England on Christmas Eve and into Christmas day – not exactly what snow lovers were hoping Santa would bring. A couple of factors came into play which led to the heavy rains and well above average temperatures. First off, at the 500 millibar level, a trough dug all the way down into the Gulf of Mexico which helped pump bountiful amounts of moisture up the

Best Christmas Gift Of All 2014-12-25 15:52:42.000 - Michael Kyle, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Since the weather never takes a day off, we don’t either here at the Mount Washington Observatory.  That doesn’t mean that we don’t take time to celebrate the holiday though. As most of you did, today we woke up to find gifts from Santa Clause and generous members of the observatory under our Christmas tree. We also gathered together around our tree as a summit family and enjoyed watching our favorite holiday movies and opening our gifts. Like always the most interesting gift we got today

How Lucky I feel... 2014-12-24 15:29:19.000 - Michael Wessler, Plymouth State University Summit Intern   Only hours in to my first time here at the summit, the home of the world’s worst weather threatens to live up to its name. While my time here will largely be spent working on climate research, it’s hard to look away from the present weather when you’re surrounded by it. It is truly a unique experience to be sitting in the weather room at the observatory with winds howling by and rain crashing against the windows. Between shadowing the observers on hourly observations, taking

Volunteering on the Summit 2014-12-23 06:09:39.000 - Sue Zlogar, Summit Volunteer   Mike and I have returned for our December "volunteer vacation," on the Rockpile, with Ryan, Mike, Kaitlyn, Josh and Marty. A frenzy of activity has resulted in homeostasis being put to the test: reconstruction of the sleeping quarters, the first EMS winter hiking trek, and a shortened work week due to the holiday season and Christmas schedules. All that being said they have managed to go with the flow and rewarded us with 3 spectacular sunrises and 2 beautiful sunsets, morning undercasts with alpine glow shining underneath the

A Brief Overview of Backcountry Skiing Gear 2014-12-22 18:40:15.000 - Mike Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   It's amazing the difference a couple of weeks makes! The current snow coverage here on the summit compares to what was here mid-winter last year! Even though there's a large rain event headed our way this week, hopefully New Hampshire's deep snowpack will survive. Ample natural snow, along with prime snow-making conditions have allowed ski areas across New Hampshire to build up quite the base of snow, which will hopefully stay solid through the rain event that is due to arrive Wednesday. We could

Time Lapse Teaser 2014-12-21 18:13:31.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Balancing time between instrumentation, coding, and preparing my project for the annual American Meteorological Society, I have barely had any down time this week! I’m very excited to head to the American Meteorological Society’s annual convention this January representing the Observatory! If you’re heading to Phoenix for the AMS meeting this January, be sure to stop by and visit the Observatory’s representatives! In my limited down time, I’ve had the chance to take a few time lapses this week. Take a look at our unique view from the

Started From The Bottom 2014-12-20 22:42:41.000 - Joshua Perez, Summit Intern   Here's a little math. Today the visibility was at 130 miles at 4pm. But what does that really mean, and how substantial is that?   In athletic terms, that means that up here at the Mount Washington Observatory, we could watch five continuous marathons all running directly away from the summit.   Note: For liability reasons, the Observatory cannot recommend anyone attempting to run five consecutive marathons to demonstrate this point.   Now taking that distance, we can square it and multiply by pi to get the surface

How Do You Take Your Coffee? 2014-12-19 17:37:07.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist...and Lover of Coffee   Bold. With a splash of milk. Preferably whole milk, but any kind will do. Nothing more, nothing less.   Early mornings on the summit are frequent and sometimes not so easy to deal with. However, when we are treated to a beautiful sunrise with undercast in all directions and rippling, golden-tinged clouds cresting and falling like waves in a turbulent ocean, I can tell you the early mornings are far, far easier to accept.    But waking up to another foggy day (after

White Christmas on the Horizon? 2014-12-18 17:37:39.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   An area of low pressure departing the region has brought some decent snowfall across the state over the past 48 hours with the higher summits and much of northern New Hampshire seeing the larger totals. As this low continues to propagate offshore, high pressure will move in for the weekend, bringing clear skies and fair conditions. Looking ahead, however, models are showing the possibility of what could potentially be a significant snowfall event for New England; just in time for Christmas! Below are some images from

Spending My Birthday on the Summit 2014-12-17 17:29:35.000 - Werner Griesshammer, Summit Volunteer   For several years I planned to spend the week of my birthday with my wife Conny as a volunteer at the Mount Washington Observatory, but every year something else came up. 2014 finally was the year! Last week's snow storm delayed shift change until Thursday and when we came up to the summit, we were engulfed in fog. But who would expect anything else on the mountain with the world's worst weather.   After a day with a breathtaking sunset Monday night, nature decided to surprise