The Holiday Season Is Quickly Approaching 2014-11-30 19:07:20.000 - Michael Kyle, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   With Thanksgiving now behind us, everyone now seems to be rushing to get all their holiday shopping done. What better place to shop for your family’s weather enthusiast then on the Mount Washington Observatories online shop! Our online shop has a wide selection of merchandise. There is everything from educational toys for the kids, to Marty the cat souvenirs, to clothing appeal, to books about weather and the outdoors. If you or your loved ones have been looking to install your own weather station, we

Nice Summit Days 2014-11-30 06:21:03.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   Yesterday was the first "nice" day we’ve seen on the summit in quite some time. I say 'nice' in quotations because, of course, when we’re talking about weather on the summit of Mount Washington, everything has to be taken in context. Temperatures were still below average yesterday, only reaching around 10 degrees during the afternoon after starting out below zero in the morning. The summit remained clear all day however, with mostly sunny skies and good visibility. Winds also remained breezy, averaging around 30 mph, but nowhere near as

Turkey Day on the Summit 2014-11-28 08:43:47.000 - Mike Carmon, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Our weather station is operated year-round by observers on the summit, so to keep records consistent, this includes all holidays as well. Our shift is scheduled for the holidays this year, so we wanted to make sure that Thanksgiving away from all of our families was a memorable one. It certainly was, thanks to the mountain itself, and the culinary skills of our whole crew. When we arrived on the summit on Thanksgiving eve, the threat of a Nor’easter was looming large, and it did not

Things We Are Thankful For 2014-11-26 06:15:49.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Mike Dorfman, Ryan Knapp, Weather Observers   Every year around this time, everyone reflects on what they are thankful for. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, our shift compiled a list of some of the things we are thankful for, from A-Z: A - Anemometers, Auto Road, AMC, Adventure, Aurora Borealis B - Batteries  (Thanks Eaton!) C - Cats, Celsius, Cog, Clouds, Coffee, Coriolis force D - Donations, Distance Learning, Dessert E - Eastern Mountain Sports, Elevation, Extreme Mount Washington Exhibit F - Fahrenheit, Friends, Family G - Graupel, Guests, Gift

Rain, Then Snow on the Summit 2014-11-24 16:53:46.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   While rain pushes through the area today (see above), we’re all on the edge of our seats monitoring the forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday for what could be the first significant snowfall for the area! While the different weather models have not come into complete agreement, it looks like a coastal storm will be pushing into the region Wednesday and Thursday. At this point, it seems to be hugging the coast, with less of an effect further inland, but models can change dramatically in

When Friends Become Family 2014-11-23 18:57:20.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   There’s hardly ever a dull moment on the summit. If we’re not forecasting, taking hourly observations, providing live interactive programs to students in classrooms, strengthening our IT network, composing weather summaries, shoveling, hosting an overnight trip, or completing so many of the other tasks necessary to maintain a mountaintop weather station, we can usually be found enjoying each other's company by working on our poker faces, trying to beat the other team in corn hole, catching up on episodes of Modern Family, determining the Boggle champ, talking

Blowing Snow on the Summit 2014-11-22 17:42:36.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Mount Washington is in the fog around 60 percent of the year, but fog isn’t the only thing that can reduce visibility here on the summit. Blowing snow occurs quite frequently in the wintertime, making for hazardous travel conditions. The most severe cases occur with high wind events after newly fallen snow events; events that can be just as disorienting to hikers as fog. While the blowing snow we received this morning was mild for Mount Washington standards, it was still a reminder of what’s to

Novemburrrrr! 2014-11-21 15:45:06.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   One month from today (Sunday, December 21), astronomical winter begins for the Northern Hemisphere. However it seems winter didn’t look at the calendar this year and decided to jump the gun bringing winter a month early for most of the country including the summit of Mount Washington. Take today for instance, we are seeing temperatures hovering around -3F (-19C), winds averaging 60-80 mph, light snow showers, blowing snow, and dense fog. It certainly looks and feels more like mid-January than mid-November. With mid-January like conditions, we have to take mid-January like

All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Lake Effect Snow 2014-11-20 22:21:02.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   All eyes have shifted to western New York, where areas of the state have received crippling lake effect snow (and it's not over yet!). But what exactly is lake effect snow and why does it occur? How can bodies of water have such a large influence on snowfall totals? Every year between November and January, lake effect snow events bring several feet of snow to lake bordering cities such as Cleveland, OH, Erie, PA, and Buffalo, NY. While the Great Lakes

When do the Coldest Temperatures Occur? 2014-11-19 19:43:03.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   After I was done with my shift today, I stumbled upon a really interesting graphic. Posted by the National Climatic Data Center, this map shows the dates of the record lows from 1981-2010 across the United States. It is immediately evident that the East Coast gets cold temperatures much later in the year than the plains out west. Although there are many reasons for this, one of the more prominent contributing factors has to do with the albedo, or reflectance, of the ground. The Rocky