Twas the Night Before Seek 2012-07-20 18:38:51.000 - Adam Brainard,  Summit Intern Seek the Peak is Tomorrow! Twas the night before Seek and across the great peakthe day shift was quiet and soon fast-asleep.The instruments were hung very safe in their nooksready for guests with inquisitive looks.Volunteers still baked, their brows covered in sweat; the hunger of Seekers will certainly be met.Marty was active chasing mice after dark;tomorrow he may decide to sleep with State Park.The night watch stood ready for any change in the weather;but he predicts little change, which is news all the better.The air was quiet, the

Variable visibility? 2012-07-19 18:20:48.000 - Christopher Gregg,  Summit Intern Mont Ham and Killington. Over the past few weeks I have found myself enamored with the view around the summit of Mount Washington. I've had to opportunity to be able to familiarize myself with the surrounding peaks and how far away they are. Today was a day with great visibility. After getting my bearings, I noticed that Mont Ham, a whopping 106 miles away in Canada was faintly visible, while Killington, a mountain in Vermont about 88 miles away (18 miles closer) was not visible at all. Obviously, visibility to the

A Volunteers Reflections 2012-07-18 23:20:34.000 - Beth Daniels,  Summit Volunteer The view to our south. Top of Mount Washington for a week, what a treat! I was lucky to spend a week on the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi and north of the Carolina's, cooking, doing house work and exploring the area above the timberline. Spending time with the great people working for the Mount Washington Observatory as meteorologist, museum attendants and tour guides was a joy. As a rookie and my first time volunteering, I was a bit nervous about the challenge, especially when told five days before

Science in the Mountains 2012-07-17 16:56:11.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL Wednesday July 18th the Mount Washington Observatory will be offering its second program for Science in the Mountains: A Passport to Science. This fun and exciting lecture series if free to the public and starts at 7pm Wednesdays through August 15th at the Weather Discovery Center in North Conway. This past week kicked off the program with a presentation on Observing Mount Washington's Weather. All the programs cover a wide variety of topics that pertain to the White Mountain region. This week the presentation will be on

The fog returns 2012-07-16 18:36:29.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL After several days of amazing weather, sun, blue skies, low winds with no fog or rain, it's been back to reality today with a return to the fog, some rain showers and slightly higher winds. It's still very warm though, well over 50 degrees, but I must admit that I'm really glad to be missing the 90+ degree temperatures down in the valley. Tomorrow could be interesting too with the weather models indicating the chance for some afternoon thunderstorms.The observatory has a lot going on over the next

Last Nights Aurora 2012-07-15 17:32:14.000 - Emanuel Janisch,  Summit Intern Aurora The Aurora Borials was something that I had learned about, seen pictures of, and heard stories of, but I had never seen them first hand. Seeing them for the first time earlier this summer was quite something, however seeing them for a second time last night was even better. Studying meteorology, I have always has an interest in what's going on with the weather above and around me. I have also had an interest in what's going on outside Earth's atmosphere. When I heard about a solar storm that

Getting Ready For Seek The Peak 2012-07-14 18:15:16.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist My Dad and I when he decided to do Seek The Peak It is one week until the Mount Washington Observatory's biggest annual fundraising event Seek the Peak and although I have participated the past two years, this year will be different. It just so happens that when I switched shifts my schedule was rearranged so that I am not working on the summit the days of Seek the Peak as I have in the past. This means that I am able to support a very

Working at the Half-Way House 2012-07-13 17:29:29.000 - Steve Harshman,  Summit Intern Instruments on the Half-Way House Having almost two months under my belt as an intern, I've come to know the observatory pretty well. Through assisting in observations, giving tours, and just exploring the facility I've learned a lot about the data we collect up here and the instruments used to collect it. All the information gathered on the summit is extremely valuable, but this isn't our only source of data. Scattered around the mountain and on nearby peaks we also have various Mesonet sites, which provide a tremendous

Summer Hiking Tips 2012-07-12 23:49:22.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL With summer hiking season in full swing, and our annual Seek the Peak hike-a-thon coming up in a little over a week, it is quite prudent to discuss some important guidelines for those of you that plan to spend some time above tree line over the coming months.Mt. Washington and the White Mountains present many unique challenges to the summer hiker, particularly due to the fact that tree line is, in comparison to other mountainous regions, quite low (generally around 4000-4500 feet). Weather conditions above tree line tend to

Science in the Mountains Summer Lecture Series 2012-07-11 14:18:03.000 - Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL Science in the Mountains Summer Lecture Series presents Rebecca Scholand, Mount Washington Observatory weather observer and education specialist at 7 p.m. at our Weather Discovery Center, North Conway. What exactly is a meteorologist and how do they make a forecast? Forget the suits and ties and enter the exciting world of our mountaintop crew! Find out who these intrepid scientists are, how they collect data, what kind of data they collect, and how they translate it into information we can use. This is a