Exciting Times on the Summit 2014-10-25 18:40:00.000 - Mike Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   The last few days have been exciting!When we arrived at the summit on Wednesday, it was a winter wonderland!We received over an inch of liquid equivalent Wednesday through Thursday.With temperatures hovering right around freezing, everything on the summit was covered in a thick coat of several inches of glaze ice!The grip of my Vasque boots paired with traction spikes made for safe travel during observations, but ice skates would have been more exciting (and dangerous). In other news, we're in the process of putting the finishing

Ice, Ice, Baby 2014-10-24 19:16:00.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   The coastal low that brought rain to most (if not all of) New England the past few days was originally projected to bring mostly rain to the summit as well.However, a full on rain event on the summit of Mount Washington never really came.Instead, we saw temperatures hovering right around freezing for pretty much the past three days. This resulted in a mix of rain and freezing rain that has coated everything with a wet glaze ice.Deicing this glaze ice has been tough because it clings to surfaces almost

Volunteer Notes 2014-10-23 19:47:00.000 - Don Hayes & Mike Ward, Summit Volunteers   Our week atop the rock pile has come to an end.This was my third time volunteering at the Observatory and I was happy to bring a longtime friend with me to experience a week of cooking for the crew and getting out and around the mountain experiencing all kinds of weather.He found the time at 6288 feet fun and very informative.The crew was a fun, hardworking group who were very happy to share their interest in meteorology with two novices. Each time I have been on the

Wicked Winds from the East 2014-10-23 00:17:00.000 - Kaitlyn O`Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   The big discussion tonight is wind! It has certainly ramped up throughout the day and we previously observed a sustained easterly wind speed of 68mph, with gusts reaching 76mph earlier this evening. Since this time, winds have subsided a bit to 56mph sustained with gusts up to 65mph. Perhaps you are wondering how frequently this occurs. After some quick number crunching of our records over the past 80+ years, it was calculated that for observed hourly average wind direction, we've seen easterly winds in excess of

Extreme Mountain 2014-10-21 12:19:00.000 - Christine Welsh, Summit Museum Attendant   Here, on top of the tallest terra firma in the northeast United States, dedicated weather observers, who were thought at the time to be stark raving mad, measured a wind speed of an astonishing 231 miles per hour. That was in 1934. Today, while most folks work Monday through Friday 9-5, our weather observers work around the clock for a week at a time continuing the Mount Washington Observatory's mission of recording hourly weather data, and eagerly awaiting the next great meteorological phenomenon. Mount Washington is proud to call

Winter visits the summit 2014-10-20 18:09:00.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   Winter has made a brief return to the higher summits, with temperatures bottoming out in the lower teens last night and the summit receiving some light snow accumulation along with over a foot of rime ice. Winds were also more typical of the winter season, with a peak gust of 80 mph, which made de-icing last night even more exciting. This morning we were treated to fantastic views as the higher summits cleared out of the fog, with a stark difference in color from the white summits of

Be Prepared! 2014-10-19 19:55:00.000 - Michael Kyle, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   To take a line from YouTube sensation Frankie MacDonald, Be Prepared! It is always important to be prepared while hiking, but with winter's grasp tightening on the summit of Mount Washington it is even more vital to make sure you prepare for what is, or could be awaiting you on the trail.While hiking you should always carry the 10 essentials of hiking. Also monitor the weather for the valley and higher summits . The weather between the valley and the higher summits could be completely different.What is a mild

Wild Weather 2014-10-18 17:35:00.000 - Caleb Meute, Summit Intern   Every week up here I am exposed to a different type of weather extreme and it certainly keeps things interesting. On Thursday, the summit had 3.22 inches of rain dumped on it. The temperatures were in the 50s which are well above normal values for this time of the year. We actually tied a daily maximum temperature record for October 15th, which was set in 1947. All of these warm temperatures in the beginning of the week will now be a far cry from where our temperatures are looking to

Life as a Cat 2014-10-17 17:43:00.000 - Marty, Summit Cat   So I took a trip down the mountain a couple of weeks ago to visit my doc. I haven't taken a trip down to the valley in a while. I forgot how there is 20% more oxygen at the base of this mountain. SQUIRREL The observers act disappointed with me sometimes when I don't capture the rodents that wander into our home. Have you tried chasing a flying squirrel on all fours around a room at the 800 millibar level? While they are quite distracting, I need at least

Volunteer Comments 2014-10-16 17:58:00.000 - Jill Terman Potter, Summit Volunteer   It's Wednesday morning, and we are packed and ready to leave. One week ago we were at the base of the mountain, enjoying a cool and beautiful fall morning, wondering what the week would be like. This is my second time here, so I had a general idea, and my good friend, Amy, is always game for anything. Luckily, I had increased my abdominal workouts for the past month, preparing for a week of laughing with Amy. My first week here was July/August. The first day we had heavy