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

Winter Internship Deadline Today: Apply Now! 2014-10-15 18:36:00.000 - Mike Carmon, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Let me take the time to talk to you all about an incredible opportunity here at the Mount Washington Observatory! Are you looking to gain some real-world experience in the field of meteorology? How about at a weather station located atop a mountain, world-famous for it's extreme weather? Our internship program is incredibly unique, and is a great opportunity to get invaluable experience in a fully-operational mountaintop weather station! It's a great foot in the door too, as all six full-time observers currently on staff

My Final Week on the Summit 2014-10-14 20:11:00.000 - Andrew Tucker, Summit Museum Attendant   Well I have come to the final day of my adventure atop Mount Washington for the season. I never expected to live on a mountain, let alone be with such an amazing group of people. From experiencing wind speeds up to almost 100mph, to being able to capture the amazing view of the Northern Lights, I must say that this has been one of the best times of my life. I feel like I have become part of a family during my time at the

Changeable Weather on the Summit 2014-10-13 18:50:00.000 - Mike Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Today displayed Mount Washington's variable weather at its best.I woke up to a beautiful sunrise under completely clear skies.Doing observations through the day, there were some high level clouds filtering in, but they didn't even cover 1/8th of the sky.Just after noontime, I saw low level clouds in the distance.As I watched over the span of 30 minutes or so, I could see lenticulars forming closer and closer to the summit.Shortly after they began to form over the Northern Presidential Range, the cloud base lowered and

Mid-October Reminders 2014-10-12 19:34:00.000 - Kaitlyn O`Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Busy! That's the best word to sum up this cool, crisp, mid-October Sunday. Typically around this time of year, everyone is making their last few visits to the summit before operations close down for the winter season. If you are wondering what the current operational hours are, please see Ryan's comment from yesterday, where he provided thorough descriptions of what to expect over the next few weeks. It's hard to believe we are nearly halfway through the month already. There are just a few important reminders to consider before

Current Operations Q and A 2014-10-11 18:34:00.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   As you may have seen on our Facebook page, Twitter page, Webcams, local news, or in person, the summit has received a coating of snow and rime over the past few days. And reading through emails and comments on our social media pages, this has raised a few questions.For example, is this normal?Yes! October is typically when the summit(s) start seeing measurable amounts of snow with Mount Washington's first inch usually falling right around the start of the month.If you look at our F-6 Monthly Data page

Gambling with Wind 2014-10-10 19:27:00.000 - Kaitlyn O`Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Last night as the winds continued to climb higher, we gathered around the Current Summit Conditions monitor in our living quarters and made bets as to what the highest gust would be within the next 12 hours. Andrew said 92mph, I guessed 94mph, Mike and Arielle both called 95mph, Ryan claimed 97mph, our volunteer Jill suspected 99mph, and our docent Larry was sure it'd gust to well over 100mph (unfortunately our other volunteer Amy was busy making the best curry I've ever consumed to hear that we were

Freefallin'! 2014-10-09 20:06:00.000 - Arielle Ahrens, Summit Intern   It seems as though we beat the other shift to 100+ mph speeds this season... During our off-week, we all went skydiving together! We joined Skydive New England last Monday morning for a shift adventure. Ryan and Mike Dorfman have both been skydiving before, but it was the first time for Kaitlyn and I. It was probably the scariest and the coolest thing I've ever done. The first 45-60 seconds after jumping out of the plane were spent in free fall. We quickly approached ~120 mph, close to terminal velocity. Terminal