Yet Another Unusual Day on the Summit 2014-09-25 18:58:00.000 - Mike Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   When I woke up I was surprised to see relative humidity in the single digits at justfour percent, all thanks to a high pressure system pushing down over the region. Aftera quick glance outside, I realized another interesting phenomenon had set up overnight-asubsidence inversion. Inversions occur when the temperature increases with height(normally they decrease with height). One type of inversion, a subsidence inversion,occurs when sinking air warms up. An inversion often sets up at the boundary betweenthis sinking layer of air and the air

Under Pressure! 2014-09-24 20:03:00.000 - Kaitlyn O`Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   High pressure has moved in and will be hanging around for the next few days, bringing beautiful conditions to the higher summits. In fact, today's pressure reading topped out at 824.03 millibars, which falls within the top ten highest pressures recorded on the summit; the highest of which was approximately 826 millibars. As for what is more typically recorded at 6,288 feet, the climatological normal for the station is 801.22 millibars. If you haven't visited yet this season, be sure to take advantage of these last few summer-like days

A great week atop New England! 2014-09-23 18:02:00.000 - Dennis Rosolen, Summit Volunteer   September 17, the long awaited time to arrive at the Observatory as a Docent, a position where I am a volunteer educator leading groups on an introductory tour of the Observatory then handing them off with a meteorologist to complete the interesting and informative session. A beautiful clear day only enhanced my excitement to begin the week. After settling in I was introduced to the rest of the crew and where I was to be. The weather on Thursday was foggy with high winds so helping

Come up while you can! 2014-09-22 18:38:00.000 - Christine Welsh, Summit Museum Attendant   For a number of reasons, this has been an interesting shift week on the rock pile. The weather has been swinging radically from autumn to winter and back. One morning I awoke to rime ice and a -6 degree wind chill and 110 mile visibility. The next day we reached the low 50s, but had zero view of the rest of the world. We have seen 2 mile per hour winds and we have seen upwards of 82 mile per hour winds. The most remarkable aspect

Cold Winds Rising 2014-09-21 18:38:55.000 - Tom Padham,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Some of the first rime ice of the season This week has seen some very large temperature swings on the summit, with temperatures falling as low as a chilly 14 degrees and into the relatively mild lower 50s. Three separate cold fronts will have crossed the summit by tomorrow, with temperatures falling about 25 degrees in roughly 30 hours from the time of this writing. Icing conditions are also looking to make a return to the higher summits late tomorrow, with a much more wintry scene expected by Tuesday. A

Winter Internships Are Coming 2014-09-20 21:05:56.000 - Michael Kyle,  Weather Observer NULL Here at the summit of Mount Washington preparations are underway for winter. Reinstalling storms windows and winterizing our instrumentation are just a few of the winter preparations that we take care of at the start of every winter season. Another task is selecting the winter interns that will be joining the summit crews for the winter season. While the actually internship does not start till after the New Year begins, the process of selecting the winter intern begins much earlier, on October 15th when the application deadline closes.

Thank You to our Volunteers! 2014-09-19 19:39:12.000 - Kaitlyn O`Brien,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL Today was fantastic! I know this isn't my normal shift week, but this evening, I joined my friends and colleagues at the Volunteer Appreciation Party. Every year, we throw a party for our wonderful volunteers who so selflessly sacrifice their time and energy to help out the Observatory, both in the valley at the Weather Discovery Center and on the summit. After dinner at the Auto Road Lodge, everyone traveled up to the summit to enjoy the sunset. To all of our current volunteers as well

A Glimpse of Winter to Come 2014-09-18 18:57:45.000 - Tom Padham,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL Ice Building Up On The ParapetAs Kyle alluded to with his comment yesterday, this week is our shift's first taste of winter this season. Rime and glaze ice are currently building up on the summit structures, with more expected through this evening. After spending the summer going outside with only a light jacket on, today was the first day I had to gather up my winter gear and wear a hat, gloves, and goggles before heading out onto the icy deck for a weather observation.Although this

Winter Is Coming 2014-09-17 18:04:58.000 - Michael Kyle,  Weather Observer NULL After returning to the summit after my off week, it was exciting to see that talk of snow and icing are starting to become part of our weekly weather briefings. During my drive back to New Hampshire yesterday it was starting to become clear that summer is quickly winding down and autumn is becoming more prominent. In the valleys, leaves are starting to transition from the summer greens to their fall yellows and oranges, and soon enough they will be falling to the ground. As that is occurring in

Sunrise, Sunset, and Beyond 2014-09-16 23:22:24.000 - Ruth Innes,  Summit Volunteer NULL This week I had the privilege of being a volunteer at the Mount Washington Observatory. It proved to be one of the best weeks ever! Apart from the 'usual' experiences oflife at the top, we all experienced exceptional events: 1. Stunning, crystal clear sunrises 2. Beautiful sunsets (again, clear skies) 3. An Aurora Borealis that was, according to the staff 'the best any of them have ever seen'If you are reading this you no doubt have likely heard of the Aurora Borealis occurrence,as it was exceptional and has