Summit From the Sky 2013-03-27 16:38:41.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Mount Washington from over Maine Well, five days later and we are back on the summit. Our shortened off-week was due to a delayed shift change last week that got us off the summit a day later than usual. Despite this, I was able to fully enjoy my time in the valley with the added bonus of a beautiful flight to Maine on Monday. With minimal clouds, I was able to snap a few pictures of my other home, Mount Washington. Although it is spring in the valley's,

Some Weather Stats 2013-03-24 16:20:54.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL Recently I got to wondering what some of the weather averages and extremes have been since I started working up here on the Rockpile back in October 2007. A quick look through our F6 Monthly Data records pulled up some interesting numbers. Winds have gusted over 120 mph in 16, and over 130 mph in 6, of those 66 months and twice at or over 140 mph (naturally I was off shift for both of these events). Our peak wind gust during this time was 145 mph back

Spring on Mount Washington? What's that? 2013-03-23 17:28:38.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist One iced-up snowcat. It may be spring on the calendar, but up here on the rock pile today's temperatures have struggled to make it out of the upper single digits above zero with thick fog limiting visibility to less than 50 feet at times, along with snow and winds ranging between 40-110 miles per hour thus far. Needless to say, our overnight EduTrip scheduled for this evening was turned around by the brutal conditions they found at treeline, nearly 2,000 feet and 4 miles from the

Why Are We Up Here? 2013-03-22 17:35:08.000 - Mike Dorfman,  Summit Intern Rime Ice Buildup on the Summit One of the many questions that we get up here on the summit is 'Why do you need to hire people to live on the summit when you can have automated stations do the same work?' Yes, automated stations are quickly replacing the few manual stations that remain however the weather instruments on the summit require constant supervision to assure that they are working properly. Whenever the summit is below freezing and in the fog, something called 'rime ice' builds up on

Where's the Road? 2013-03-21 22:12:14.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Drifted 5-mile The second time was the charm for yesterday's shift change.Coming up the Auto Road on Wednesday morning, after the summit had received another two feet of snow with the Tuesday/Wednesday Nor'easter, we knew our chances of getting through were not great. After plowing through some major drifts on the 4-mile section, and with visibility rapidly deteriorating, we called it quits and decided to try again on Thursday.After a bright and early departure at 7AM from the base, we headed up to the 4-mile section with relative ease. However,

Two Extremes 2013-03-20 21:41:29.000 - Ed O'Malley,  Summit Volunteer NULL In preparing for this Mt. Washington volunteer week, I effectively went from one extreme of 'the world's worst weather' to another. My small, coastal hometown in New Jersey was one of the areas hardest hit by Superstorm (Hurricane) Sandy in late October. Since then, with the exception of a few short trips, I have been dealing with the aftermath of that storm, both personally, professionally, and as an emergency management volunteer in my town.It all started on October 29th, 2012, when I first saw ocean water breach the dunes, and

An Ode to Marty, the Mount Washington Feline Sage 2013-03-19 22:58:18.000 - John Bauhs,  Summit Volunteer Marty the Feline Sage. It was a gusty Tuesday morning when I looked out the window through the icy glass and discovered 3 inches of snow had fallen. Overnight, the glistening powder kicked up a blizzard that slammed the summit leaving heavy drifts. The microwave towers and out-buildings were painted with a delicate white veil. Weather like today interrupts normal thought and manipulates your senses.Marty walked into the weather room. He's a fine cat and a confident master of this place in the clouds.

Supporting Us Through Pictures 2013-03-18 18:27:25.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist A preview of our new picture site. It is often said that a picture is worth 1000 words. And that is why, whenever possible, we try to snap a photo of interesting or unique things we see up here. We then post these images in our Observer Comments or on our Facebook page for people to enjoy. Over the years, we would post an image on our pages and then receive an email or Facebook comment asking if we were selling the image. So, with these requests in mind,

Something Spectacular 2013-03-17 17:19:42.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Aurora As Viewed From The Summit As mentioned in last night's Observer Comment we had the potential to see an Aurora Borealis (aka, the Northern Lights). And what an Aurora we saw! At around 12:28AM EDT, the ACE Spacecraft detected the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the solar flare earlier in the week and soon after, the CME reached earth. By 01:01AM EDT, Auroral activity could be viewed but it was not until later that the summit would clear from the fog for a spectacular viewing. The colors were amazing

Mother Nature May Bring Us a Green Sky for St. Patrick's Day 2013-03-16 18:53:00.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL According to NOAA-NWS's Space Weather Prediction Center, a moderate to possibly strong geomagnetic storm is expected Saturday night into Monday morning - possibly allowing for green skies on St Patrick's Day. This means that the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights to some, may be visible in parts of New England this weekend. Best viewing will be in areas with views that stretch well north, away from cities, with the better chances the further north you are located. However, you