Hey There Winter, Nice of You to Return 2012-11-24 19:56:39.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Star Trails from Weds and Thurs night. Snow, rime, cold, and winds have finally returned tonight after a long absence from the summit; and the current crew couldn't be happier. For this time of year, temperatures should be averaging in the upper teens (Fahrenheit), winds should be averaging around 40 mph, snow should be averaging around 41 inches, and fog should be obscuring our views. However, an area of high pressure that built in on the 14th and hung around until the 22nd kept us

How I Spent Thanksgiving 2012-11-23 15:35:27.000 - Cyrena Briede,  Director of Summit Operations Me and the crew flying our kite. While others are traveling to and from family and friends this Thanksgiving, I decided to instead spend the holiday with the summit staff. Sure, my family was probably a little disappointed that I didn't come home, but I thought it was a great opportunity to spend with our fantastic observers who weren't able to go home either. Often we find ourselves spending more time with the people we work with than our own families, so our coworkers become a family

Happy Thanksgiving! 2012-11-22 21:32:12.000 - The Summit Crew,  and Marty Thanksgiving Dinner. Tonight's comment will be short and sweet because tonight is Thanksgiving! Here on the summit, each of the crew chose one dish to contribute to the meal, and with more food then we know what to do with, we are sure to be full and relaxing on the couch in no time. Now it would not be Thanksgiving without saying what we are thankful for; I think all of us here on the summit can agree that we are so thankful for our members and supports, without whom

Perfect Holiday Gifts 2012-11-21 14:53:45.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Holidays on the Summit As the holidays are quickly approaching finding the perfect gift can often be a daunting task. This year the Mount Washington Observatory is here to help! We have many different great gift ideas for the outdoor adventurer, Observatory supporter, and weather enthusiast in your family.Send someone on the winter experience of a lifetime through one of our EduTrips designed to give you an out of this world educational experience on the summit of Mount Washington. Here you will journey to the summit and spend the

Just when you think nothing is going on... 2012-11-20 17:19:12.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist A distinct layer of haze looking west this PM. Even though this past week's weather pattern has been extremely quiet, that doesn't mean interesting things aren't happening in our atmosphere. A few days ago I spoke about sun dogs that were a sign of very high level moisture (more specifically ice crystals that help form high-level cirrus clouds) in our atmosphere, which was pretty much the only moisture to be found, given how low our relative humidity on the rockpile has been lately (on

How Often Does This Happen? 2012-11-19 21:37:10.000 - Mike Dorfman,  Summit Intern Length of Clear Spells on the Summit Up here on the summit, what many would consider normal weather is unusual for us. We've been in the clear with calm winds for much of the last 5 days. Extended clearing on the summit in November hasn't happened in the recent memory of many of the observers, so I decided to look into our weather archives to see how often clear spells like this occur on the summit. As it turns out, the last span of five clear days in

More Night Shift Ramblings 2012-11-18 22:57:40.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL This is turning into an incredible week of nights for me. Apart from a very brief interlude of some pesky fog late Friday night I've been blessed with crystal clear skies and some amazing star gazing. So far no Aurora Borealis sightings but I have seen quite a few 'shooting stars' - the Leonids meteor shower peaked on the 17th. The incredible night sky is definitely the best thing about working the night shift.Considering the time of year it is really amazing that we've seen no precipitation

Sun, Dog. 2012-11-17 18:09:30.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Sun dogs to our west late Friday afternoon. Well it's been a quiet week here on the Rockpile- my weekly home, perhaps one of the more quiet weeks in recent history. Not a single drop of precipitation has fallen since Tuesday, and we've only been in the fog for a few brief hours, instead of the 60% odds we typically have. Weather-wise it hasn't been too rough up on the summit, though it's hard to complain when the view has stayed so outstanding. With the ever-decreasing sunlight as we draw

Spectacular Auroras 2012-11-16 19:42:42.000 - Mike Dorfman,  Summit Intern As many facebook fans may have noticed, we had a spectacular aurora display last Tuesday evening (if you aren't on facebook or haven't seen these pictures, go here). If you ever wanted to know more about how these auroras form, read on! We are entering a great time for auroras. In order to have these shimmering light shows in our skies, several things need to happen. Crucially, the sun must be emitting particles from sunspots. These sunspots look like gigantic geysers shooting particles from the sun into space. Our sun goes

Where has the Wind Gone 2012-11-15 22:39:11.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL The past 24 hours has been one of the calmest periods I can remember up here - the average wind speed for the day so far is just under 4 mph and the max gust is only 12 mph. It really feels strange walking out onto the deck and there's no wind pushing you, no breeze on your face and it's so quiet - it makes you realize just how much background noise the wind makes as it rushes by the buildings, antennas and rocks. It's