A Great Day to Run Up the Rockpile 2013-06-15 17:16:50.000 - Tom Padham,  Summit Intern Runners near the finish line this morning Today was the 53rd annual road race, with over 1,300 runners making their way up the 7.6 mile auto road. It was an amazing sight to see thousands of people on the summit this morning to cheer on the runners, who had to battle some brisk winds and chilly temperatures in the upper 30s. The fastest runner made it up in just under an hour, an amazing feat to think about!After a very busy morning, things quieted down

Iridescent Clouds 2013-06-14 20:21:32.000 - Mike Dorfman,  Weather Observer Iridescent Clouds Behind the Stage Office A month or two ago, after a long and foggy shift, we were getting in the van to make our way back down the mountain. After a relatively boring sky for our shift, we had views of spectacular lenticulars as we were heading back down the mountain. After glancing up past one of the lenticulars, I saw two relatively large, iridescent clouds. One of them was lime green and the other was a deep red. After a bit of research, realized that iridescence in clouds

Research at 6288' 2013-06-13 20:50:05.000 - Luke Davis,  Summit Intern NULL From record highs, to rime icing conditions, to booming thunderstorms, it's been exciting up here during my first couple shifts. And the work load that's been ramping up is making things challenging too.For the past three days I've been sifting through piles of data, working on the intern research project assigned to myself and intern Alex Carne. Our objective is to use information on meteorological phenomena recorded daily, over the course of several winters, at the base of Tuckerman's Ravine, Huntington's Ravine, and here on the summit, to establish

Packing for Work 2013-06-12 16:36:55.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL 'Is it Tuesday already?'That's usually the phrase that runs through my head when I wake up on an off-Tuesday. My mind immediately goes to work, consolidating what I need to get done before heading up to the summit for a work week.One of the most important tasks is packing gear for the week. Depending on the time of year, the process varies greatly.In the summertime, I'll check the models for the upcoming week on Tuesday, looking to see if I'll need to supplement my normal warm weather gear with

Volunteering First Timers 2013-06-11 22:32:47.000 - John and Gina Rescigno,  Summit Volunteers Hiking with Washington in the background. Volunteering at the Observatory is a once in a live time experience that you must experience more than once. Starting out at the base parking lot you are met by the staff that you will be residing with over the week. The ride up Mt Washington was crystal clear with views well into the distance. The week was rewarding, interactive and fulfilling. The dedicated staff taught us about the weather, the importance of the Observatory and how their data is used in

Beautiful Day 2013-06-10 17:55:09.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Cleaning Up Beautiful conditions on the summit today allowed the summit staff to tackle some outdoor projects. Roger, Pete (IT Manager from the valley), Kaitlyn, Alex, and I all headed outside to fix, fabricate, and clean up the deck and tower. Pete and Roger worked hard on the top of the tower installing radio antennas. This project took quite a while but, the light winds made it easy to do their installations. On the deck, Kaitlyn, Alex, and I worked on pulling old cable and moving paving tiles into one

Intern Research 2013-06-09 15:45:29.000 - Alex Carne,  Summit Intern NULL Mount Washington's extreme climate has made it a prime location for meteorological research. Much of the research that is conducted by the observatory is performed by interns in the form of research projects. Every season, the interns of the observatory are assigned a new research project aimed at discovering new details about the weather and climate of Mount Washington.The project that I have been assigned compares the relationship between the climate and avalanche history of Tuckerman Ravine (Tucks). There is no weather station in Tucks that can directly measure the

Summer Season has Arrived Here on the Summit 2013-06-08 19:18:38.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL Life here on the 'rock' pile is moving more and more into summer mode. The Cog is now running to the summit on a daily basis through the end of the October. If you're a Railroad Buff, this is a great way to get to the summit and the first train of the day is generally one of the coal fired steam engines.The Auto Road is also open daily (weather permitting) with a few special happenings each month like the Sunrise Drives that

A Rainy Weekend 2013-06-07 16:25:39.000 - Kaitlyn O`Brien,  Summit Intern NULL As the remnants of Tropical Storm Andrea steadily move up the Eastern seaboard, we will see plenty of moisture over the next couple of days. But that won't dampen our spirits up here on the summit! Yesterday, I was lucky enough to visit with one of my college professors who was traveling in the area and decided hike up Mount Washington before the rain moved in. As a new intern, what better way to practice giving tours of the Observatory than by giving one to my college Dynamics professor?

Taking Advantage of Todays Weather 2013-06-06 16:26:36.000 - Cyrena Briede,  Director of Summit Operations IT Manager, Pete, working on the tower today. During our weekly weather briefing at shift change yesterday, we discussed the forecast and knew Wednesday was likely going to be the best day the upcoming shift saw all week. Clouds and precipitation were going to move in on Thursday, hang around for the weekend, and conditions were to improve again at the end of the shift. As much as we like the extreme weather and high winds, we also like the occasional nice calm days to get