The Night Observer Shovels 2013-01-06 20:03:00.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Saturdays Sunset Shoveling is typically an intern/day shift duty, so working the night shifts, I don't often get the opportunity to help out on this task. This week however, I got an opportunity to take up a shovel and help out my fellow daytime counterparts. Normally our shoveling is centered on 5 different exits/zones: the front entrance, the northeast exits, the south tower exit, the deck-level tower exit, and the top of the tower. By the time I woke up this afternoon, there were only two exits left to

Winter has set in on the Summit 2013-01-05 22:54:23.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL After an absolutely incredible Snow Cat ride up the mountain on Thursday, the weather turned back to cold, foggy, and windy for Friday and much of the first part of today. We're currently reporting a snow depth of twenty-four inches on the ground. That doesn't mean when you walk around the summit you're going to be up to your knees in snow everywhere, that's just the average estimated depth. You can find places that have drifted much deeper and other areas where the winds

Mount Washington, Not So Inviting Today 2013-01-04 17:48:15.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL Some days the mountain is not welcoming to guests. Today an Eastern Mountain Sports climbing trip was scheduled to hike up and spend the night with us on one of our Partner Led Climbing Trips. However, the weather seemed to be working against them. Cold temperatures, high winds and poor visibility made even getting observations tricky. For a group climbing to the summit, this becomes even more dangerous. For us, we are never more then a few steps out the door and can get inside

Cloud Iridescence 2013-01-03 19:43:34.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Deicing the 5300' ARVP site w/ Cloud iridescence As we ascended the mountain this morning, there was an overabundance of blue skies surrounding the summit. However, it wasn't 100 percent clear as there was a small strip of Altocumulus Lenticularis hovering just to the east of the mountain. Lenticular clouds are always neat to see and watch as they morph into various shapes minute to minute like a natural atmospheric lava lamp. As we ascended the mountain for shift change day, I continued to keep an eye on these clouds, just

Chilly Comments 2013-01-01 23:16:42.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL 'Brrrr' is the word to bring in the New Year!It's been one of the most topsy-turvy weather weeks that I can remember. It began immediately upon our arrival, as a major Nor'easter shot up the coast, prompting a last-minute early shift change. We received nearly 16 inches of snow with that event, with winds gusting up to 112 mph, creating massive snow drifts around the summit and on the Auto Road. A second winter storm on Saturday brought another 6 inches of snow.The weather was just getting started with us,

Negative Relative Humidity? Is that possible? 2012-12-31 17:40:00.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist -30% ?? It is really dry in our weather room right now.How dry is it, you ask? Well our mini temperature/humidity meter next to my computer was reading less than 0% for relative humidity, and if there was a number where the arrow were pointing it might have read -30%. Is that possible? (Answer: no, it's not). It certainly feels that dry, no matter how much water I drink, and I've been drinking nearly continuously today; my throat and mouth are parched and my eyes feel

Lull Before the Storm 2012-12-29 16:26:08.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL This is certainly turning into quite an exciting weather week. The Nor'easter on Thursday was really impressive with horizontal snow flying past the summit leading to near white out conditions for most of the day. Trying to de-ice in the 100+ mph easterly winds was a real challenge, we are so used to our winds coming from the west to northwest that you instinctively position yourself out of the way of the falling ice, when the winds are 180 degrees away from normal you have to constantly

Night ride and Shoveling 2012-12-28 18:05:49.000 - Emanuel Janisch,  Former Intern Snowcat during the day Traveling up Mount Washington in the summer is quite an experience in on itself. However traveling up in the winter is a whole other experience, let alone in the dark. My name is Emanuel and I was a summer intern this past summer and was privileged with the opportunity to spend a week up here on the summit during the winter. I have never ridden in a snow cat and my first time would be in the dark, it would also be the first trip

When the East Winds Blow 2012-12-27 16:46:40.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Isn't snow supposed to be outside the tower? When the Sherman Adams Summit Building was constructed and finished in 1980, it was built for withstanding some of the worst weather this planet knows. This concrete and rebar re-enforced building encompasses the northern upper slope of the summit cone and was built into the mountain itself, bolted right down to the bedrock to ensure a safe and stable foundation, even in the nastiest of storms. Triple pane windows made of bullet-proof glass also serve as good protection from

Merry Christmas! 2012-12-25 23:28:52.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Cheering on Santa Last Night I would first like to start by saying thank you to everyone who has supported the Mount Washington Observatory this holiday season. We appreciate everything that you do for us in making our mission achievable. Further, I would like to thank everyone for the gracious gifts that we received on the summit . All of us, including Marty, are thankful for all of them. We also got to take a spectacular picture last night as Santa passed over the summit. Tonight to celebrate Christmas, I