Summit Museum Demolition Begins! 2013-10-14 10:38:51.000 - Will Broussard,  Outreach Coordinator NULL On Monday, October 7th, 5 members of the Appalachian Mountain Club's Construction Crew arrived for a week of disassembly and demolition of the Mount Washington Observatory Summit Museum, ahead of the planned opening of Extreme Mount Washington in the spring of 2014.From Monday to Thursday these hardy men and women have been working to take down the last vestiges of exhibit staging areas, casing, retail structures, and the triple flight staircase leading to them all. At the end of each day they share dinner with the Observatory Staff

Princess Of The Mountain 2013-10-13 17:32:03.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist My Protector In A Moat Of Clouds Working on the summit and being one of the few females, I frequently find myself as 'one of the guys'. While I might act like one the guys from time to time, my mind still tends to have girlie daydreams. This morning was no exception as I walked out onto the observation deck for my first observation. Looking out to the horizon, the day was just beginning as light filtered over the horizon. Below me, a sea of clouds obstructed the

Open Or Closed? 2013-10-12 17:20:31.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist A guest this afternoon looks over a sea of clouds. Reading over our Facebook comments and emails, there seems to be some confusion concerning our operating status as well as others directly around us during the Federal Government Shutdown we (the United States) are currently experiencing. So, let me hopefully clear up some of that confusion by pulling together all the available resources I can find for the summit and surrounding mountain community - most of which remain open amid the Federal Government Shutdown.Let's start with us - we are

From 0 To 10 2013-10-11 23:49:28.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL I have been working on the summit since December of 2005, and in that time I have seen my fair share of sunrises and sunsets. After viewing each one, I will typically make a mental note how it rates on a scale from 0 to 10; zero being a foggy sunrise/set and a 10 being something that leaves me and others speechless. With the summit in the fog over 60 percent of the year, I have witnessed several "zeroes." I have also witnessed plenty of "ones" - those

Another Beautiful Day 2013-10-10 17:15:33.000 - Pratik Patel,  Summit Intern Observation Deck It was once again, another beautiful day on the summit with blue skies, plenty of sunshine and unmistakable views of the Appalachians. Seeing how the weather has been so cooperative within the last few days, families and friends have made the trip to the summit to take pictures and enjoy the sights. Unfortunately however, as we all know, weather is always changing. As the coastal low over the Atlantic continues to move northeast, clouds will return over the summits this evening, continuing into the night. In addition,the Geophysical

Five Common Aurora Questions We Receive 2013-10-09 23:46:06.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Aurora from October Second. If you are an avid follower or frequent checker of our Facebook page, you may have viewed a few of our Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights) images over the past year or so (on a side note, you do not need a Facebook username or password to view our content; you only need one if you intend to 'Like' or leave comments on any content). While we like to share these images, they always generate a ton of questions. So, I will answer

Out With The Old, In With The New 2013-10-08 16:51:46.000 - Samuel Hewitt,  Summit Intern New Precipitation Can Stand! Every six hours here on the summit, an observer ventures outside to collect the precipitation can. Once inside, a specially incremented ruler is used to determine how much precipitation has fallen over those six hours. When frozen precipitation is in the can (i.e. snow or ice pellets) it is first measured, before being melted in order to determine its liquid water equivalent. At the Observatory, we use a standard rain gauge to measure precipitation. An 8-inch diameter aluminum cylinder, which stands

Summit Museum Exhibit Removal Begins 2013-10-06 16:10:41.000 - Will Broussard,  Outreach Coordinator NULL It has been a week since we began deconstruction of the legendary Mount Washington Museum ahead of the planned opening of Extreme Mount Washington in the spring of 2014. On Monday, September 30th, Director of Museum Operations Bill Grenfell and Director of Education Michelle Cruz began the careful process of boxing and cataloging the exhibits, including the original heated number 2 anemometer, the Northern Presidential panorama, and multiple historical dioramas. With utmost care, each were moved safely to a climate-controlled storage facility in North Conway. Exhibit Fabricator

Changing Weather on the Summit 2013-10-05 22:26:16.000 - Mike Dorfman,  Weather Observer Lenticulars Undulating in the Twilight I had an interesting first night on the summit on Wednesday. With winds gusting in excess of hurricane force and the summit remaining in the clear, each observation was a struggle against the wind. When we're in the clear, observations involve walking the length of the deck to check conditions to our east. It was easy to get out of control walking across the deck with the wind, and it took all my strength to walk into the wind to get back to

Wii Bowling, Cabin Fever and how Observers get some R&R. 2013-10-04 17:14:20.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Observer Fitzgerald demonstrates good bowling form Another work day on top of the Rockpile is just about complete, which has this Observer considering what is on the docket for tonight's summit activities. We often get asked the question, 'what do you all do for fun up here?' to which there are several answers depending on who you ask. For those of you who do not already know, as Observers at the Mount Washington Observatory we work around the clock, 24-hours a day,