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

Deck the Peak With... 2012-12-24 16:20:06.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Santa's coming! As Becca mentioned in yesterday's Observer Comment, I usually do a yearly 'summitized' parody of a Christmas song or story. In 2007, it was a parody on the poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'. In 2008, it was a parody on 'The 12 Days of Christmas' called 'The 12 Days of Summit Christmas' fittingly. In2009, it was a twist on 'Jingle Bells' called 'Summit Weeks'. In 2010, it was a twist on 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' called 'Marty the Black-Haired Maine Coon'. And last year , it

The Night Before, The Night Before Christmas 2012-12-23 17:42:58.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Half of The Enterance Way Shoveled Twas the night before, the night before Christmas, when all through the Obs,Not an Observer was stirring, not even a mouse.The anemometer was de-iced on the tower with care,In hopes that century winds would soon reach here. The Intern was nestled all snug in his gear,While visions of extreme weather brought out a tear.Roger cooking dinner, and Ryan Observing, I was writing a comment to be oh so intriguing.I am no Ryan Knapp but I sure can try, so

I Lost My Way 2012-12-23 00:15:52.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist A summit map to help orient yourself. Sometimes it doesn't take much to lose your way. I'm not trying to be deep or metaphorical here, I mean literally, it doesn't take much to lose ones way. I was reminded of this tonight when I was out getting our precipitation can at 1830EST. But I'm getting ahead of myself; let me set up the "why" behind me losing my way. Over the course of the afternoon, relatively low winds allowed a few inches of new snow to start accumulating on

I experienced my second highest wind guests today 2012-12-21 21:29:00.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist Hays wind chart for December 21st We had another extreme weather day here on the Summit. We started off the day with temperatures in the teens with snow and fog, which of course attaches itself to everything that it comes in contact with and forms either rime ice or glaze ice. From a deicing standpoint, three to four inches of rime ice comes off the tower and instruments way easier than three to four inches of rock-hard glaze ice.By midafternoon we had transitioned from