Windex vs WINDEX 2013-11-10 18:32:09.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Yesterday - a few inches of snow, Tomorrow - feet? Windex, to most people, is a blue colored window cleaner. In meteorology, "WINDEX" stands for wintertime instability index and is used to assess the potential for snow squalls to form along frontal boundaries, mainly in New England. To assess this potential, forecasters use modeling software called BUFKIT, which is a profile visualization and analysis tool kit. In this modeling software, WINDEX is found by examining the parameters of relative humidity, differences in temperature, low level instability, and forcing at different

Another Beautiful Day on the Summit 2013-11-09 18:14:29.000 - Mike Dorfman,  Weather Observer Pile D'Assiettes (Pile of Plates) Cloud to the NE Another beautiful day has come and gone on the summit. Although the fog only cleared out late in the afternoon, foggy days are almost as exciting and fun as clear days. At every observation, I could see the feathers of rime ice outside grow several inches, until they were 2-foot-long daggers protruding at an angle from the deck. As many of you know, it is challenging to keep up with the rime ice growth here on the summit.

Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop 2013-11-08 21:03:00.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL This year's Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop (ESAW) is being held tomorrow, Saturday, at John Fuller Elementary. There are still seats available for those who wish to attend. Registration will open at 7:30 am and presentations will begin at 8:00 am and run through 5:00 pm. Speakers will include the Observatory's own Rebecca Scholand and Cyrena Briede. For more information please visit the ESAW webpage.   Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist

Spring Peepers Surviving on the Summit? 2013-11-07 13:20:52.000 - Mike Dorfman,  Weather Observer Pools of Water at the Base of Ball Crag Despite the severe weather, many animals both live on and frequently visit the summit, including foxes, squirrels, mice, and even the occasional bobcat. As rain showers turn to snow showers, and the summit dons its winter coat of rime, ice and snow, many animals either head to milder locations or burrow deep between the rocks. Last spring for several weeks while taking sunset weather observations, there was even the familiar sound of suspiciously like Spring Peepers coming from

...Just Wait A Few Minutes. 2013-11-06 23:41:14.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist One of the ever changing views from today. Today felt like a sample platter of Mount Washington weather. It started with some freezing fog with rime ice forming. The fog finally cleared off allowing a view of cloudy skies overhead. Eventually these would break up allowing for variable amounts of clouds over the course of the day. Skies were chaotic as clouds were a mix of Stratus at various levels, a few tufts of Cumulus, Altocumulus Castellanus, Altocumulus Lenticularis, Altocumulus Duplicatus, and Cirrus type clouds. At times virga

Odds and Ends at Extreme Mount Washington 2013-11-05 14:21:02.000 - Will Broussard,  Outreach Coordinator NULL It has been a busy week atop Mount Washington, with Appalachian Mountain Club Construction Crew members and electricians working alongside scientists from the Cold Region Research and Engineering Lab. Inside the space that will soon become Extreme Mount Washington, our work continues as we look forward to putting an almost complete project to bed for winter ahead of the final install.Last week our work was focused on electrification, with this week's focus being slatwall. Adorning the shared wall between our new retail storage space and

A Week of Variable Weather 2013-11-04 17:19:58.000 - Samuel Hewitt,  Summit Intern It was a beautiful day today! When our shift began last Wednesday, the summit was blanketed in 2" of snow and rime. Snow showers fell during the morning hours and temperatures remained steady in the mid-teens. On Thursday, a warm front crossed the region, allowing temperatures to soar well above the freezing mark for the first time since October 22nd. In the 24 hours from 11:00 pm on Wednesday to 11:00 pm on Thursday, the temperature rose from 19 to 42 degrees. Rain showers, accompanied by the much

Pickup Soccer at 6,288' 2013-11-03 17:02:42.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist A shot and a kick save! It's been a tough week trying to get outside and exercise, between the high winds (gusts to 130mph don't help), driving rain and bitter cold that we've experienced so far(temperature outside is about 8.5 degrees as I write this at 3pm). After a while there are only so many excuses you can make to not go outside, so today the crew decided to brave the cold and launch into an impromptu soccer match on the observation deck. Using buckets weighed down with

The Highest Wind Gust in 304 Days 2013-11-02 22:33:19.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Nov 1st Hays Chart During the night shift on Thursday night-Friday morning, southwest winds began to gradually increase after midnight. Winds were gusting in excess of hurricane force by the 2-3AM hour, but of course, we were all still waiting for much higher numbers than 74 mph! As 4AM approached, the needle on our Hays Wind Chart began to move back and forth more liberally, as winds neared 90 mph. The sound on the deck grew louder with every hourly observation, and more and more of

100 MPH and More! 2013-10-31 23:04:39.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL The wind is a-howlin'!Just before I sat down to write these thoughts out, I ascended to our deck to take an hourly weather observation, and was met with a tremendous roar as I stepped outside. It's a sound that I have become quite familiar with over my time here, but one that is generally absent for a large portion of the generally-calmer summer months.The rush of adrenaline when one opens the deck door and steps into the darkness, with the deafening roar of the wind immediately taking hold,