From Pennsylvania to New Hampshire 2014-10-02 18:57:00.000 - Caleb Meute, Summit Intern   I spent the last couple of weeks in southeastern Pennsylvania where the leaves have not yet turned to the color of fall. My drive north was spectacular, as I was able to see a vivid color change amongst all of the trees. Unfortunately, I was "that guy" taking pictures with one hand on the phone and the other on the wheel. Don't worry, 60 percent of the time, my eyes were on the road the whole time. Driving up the mountain was also quite enjoyable during Wednesday's

Hello, October 2014-10-01 18:38:00.000 - Mike Carmon, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   As my shift alluded to during their Observer Comments from last shift week, I was lucky enough to take a vacation, leaving the Observatory in the very capable hands of my co-workers Mike Kyle and Tom Padham. However, today I'm back from another 3-week hiatus, and changes are everywhere! Autumn is fully underway in northern NH, with some astounding foliage around the region. If you haven't checked it out for yourself, I'd highly recommend taking a weekend to visit the White Mountain Region to behold this amazing sight. With

From the Mouth of the Rocks 2014-09-30 18:38:00.000 - Richard Bates, Summit Museum Docent   Here we are. We've been here before you were born and we will be here long after you die. We have witnessed and endured 500 million years of time. Who are we? We live here. We are the reason you have a mountain to visit. We are gneiss, schist, and granite. You, dear Mountain friend, journey here so that you can somehow commune and imagine the world's worst weather. You hear stories of the hurricane force winds, the rime ice, the subzero cold which can

This week in haikus. 2014-09-29 18:07:00.000 - Arielle Ahrens, Summit Intern   Part 1 High pressure all week brought us bright, warm, sunny days. It felt like summer. Part 2 The fog has returned and light rain showers will come. Autumn has returned.   Arielle Ahrens, Summit Intern

A Few Beautiful Days on the Summit 2014-09-28 20:01:00.000 - Mike Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   We're enjoying the influence of high pressure in the area with a cloudless and warm few days here on the summit! Yesterday's high of 62F and today's high of 61F both broke the daily record highs of 60F (1973) and 59F (1999), respectively. It is so strange walking out on the deck this time of year and feeling temperatures that are comfortable in short sleeves! We're not the only ones enjoying the warm weather here on the summit - a Northern Saw-whet owl decided

Fall Operations 2014-09-27 23:50:00.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   While today felt like summer on the summit, all one had to do was look down into the valleys below to see the indicators of fall (foliage) are all around us. And while Sunday is expected to be equally summer-like weather-wise, visitors should not be lulled into thinking this is the norm or that operations on and around the summit are still operating with summer schedules. The first difference is the operating schedules of AMC huts and shelters. Our closest neighboring hut, Lakes of the Clouds Hut, is closed for

Sweat + Summit + Sunrise = Science! 2014-09-26 19:17:00.000 - Kaitlyn O`Brien, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   This morning, we observed an interesting phenomenon that frequently occurs on the summit. If you checked in with our Current Summit Conditions shortly after sunrise today, you may have noticed a spike in the temperature graph. While the spike may look like erroneous data, the data is actually correct! Read on to learn why! We have several different thermometers installed up here on the summit. In addition to the dry bulb thermometer on our sling psychrometer, we also have two mounted thermometers that are

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