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

The Most Exciting Week Ever! 2014-09-15 18:26:13.000 - Arielle Ahrens,  Summit Intern Rime ice on a rock! I'm pretty sure this has been the most exciting week I have experienced since the start of my internship - and that's saying a lot. This week brought many awesome experiences for me.There were awesome sunsets over some incredible undercast - which I am still getting used to! Friday night brought the aurora, which was incredible! Definitely beats out the last one I saw in terms of awesome. It was short-lived, but intense. I could actually see colors this time! My eyes were

Return of the Rime 2014-09-14 19:10:33.000 - Kaitlyn O`Brien,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Rime ice coats the Observation Deck this morning The air has a chillThat invokes a shiverSending ripples down the spineCausing the body to quiverThe sound of the windHowling past my earIs a familiar reminderWe've reached this time of yearI pull my hat downAnd zipper up tightI walk across the deckAnd soak up the sightThe sun has just risenPeeking above the silhouettesThe cloud bank rolls inAnd settles all debtsCrunch, scrunch, crackReverberating through the airThe rime has returnedAfter it once was so rarePlodding alongTo the rhythm of the beatMy footsteps

Common Aurora Questions Answered 2014-09-13 19:28:59.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Last night's Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) Last night we were treated to a short but beautiful display of the Northern Lights. As the event was occurring we posted an image to our Facebook feed and our Twitter feed which you can see in the thumbnail to this comment. This image has been making the rounds today in not only the Social Media sphere but the News sphere too. With this image, there have been several questions asked by individuals. So, I thought I'd take this comment to address a