Bugs! 2012-05-07 17:30:39.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Bugzilla on Mount Jefferson Today on the summit we received some visitors that we don't typically see on the summit. It is only on the calmest of days when the temperatures are warm that we seem to get these visitors, but when they are here they are everywhere. I am talking about bugs. Today's conditions were perfect for their arrival on the summit. The winds were low, calm in fact at some points, a rare occurrence, and the temperatures rose from the lower-30s to the mid-40s during the day. As they

Rise of the Supermoon! 2012-05-06 20:38:28.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Rising Supermoon Being the night observer last night was a special treat. Not only was it a nearly calm, comfortable, and clear evening, a special event called the Supermoon took place.Lots of times, a phenomenon such as this is hit-and-miss on the summit due to the frequency of fog obscuring the sky. However, high pressure did its job last night in keeping skies clear, allowing the moon to shine quite bright.Night was day, as the incredibly bright and brilliant moon moved into a special alignment with earth during the

The Signs of Summer 2012-05-05 15:46:34.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist People, people, everywhere! They're all around...the signs of summer...With the Sherman Adams State Park Building set to open soon to the public, our rope is up to remind visitors that you need the accompaniment of MWO staff to enter the Observatory.In addition, ropes are up on the deck as a reminder to deck-dwellers that sensitive scientific equipment lies within, and again, no public entrance here.Marty has been donned with his summer season collar, as a reminder to folks that he indeed belongs on the summit, and he is not

Benifits of Rain 2012-05-04 16:03:57.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL Today the weather has been quite different here on the summit. Rain and fog have once again confined us to our summit home. Only venturing out to get the precipitation can and read the thermometer. I will admit I am a little excited that we are receiving rain on the summit and in the valley. With the small amount of rain we have been receiving lately the fire danger in the valley has been high and consequently prevented the ability to have a fire in the backyard. The

Preparing For Summer 2012-05-03 17:19:09.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist Summer Deck It's been a really pleasant day up here with just a light breeze, some patchy fog, a nice undercast and very mild temperatures. The sun is noticeably stronger now and has been rapidly melting away the last remaining patches of snow. Marty and I took the opportunity to get outside this morning and enjoy the great weather. While he explored the rocks I started on getting things ready for the rapidly approaching summer season. The winter shovels have been put away (hope I haven't jinxed anything here)

Volunteer Comment 2012-05-01 23:32:11.000 - Joe Egan,  Summit Volunteer NULL Today is May 1st. A day set aside in many parts of the world to recognize the efforts of the worker.During the past seven days I had the opportunity to volunteer here at the Observatory. The MWO workers certainly deserve that recognition. Kim Henry, the volunteer coordinator, gave me a thorough orientation after I accepted her invitation to be here. Although orientations are crucial, what helped to allay the little anxiety I felt was a phone call the night before my departure on the 24th from Joe Kayan a veteran

A Buffet of Weather 2012-04-30 19:28:20.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Sunrise today- it's colder/windier than it appears Since we live on the summit for a week at a time, this means we have to pack clothes for a week at a time. In the winter, it's easy to pack because you know it's going to be typically cold and snowy. In summer, it's easy to pack because it's going to be generally cool or warm and wet. But as we transition in spring and fall, it's a whole other story at times as we find ourselves packing everything we

A New Daily Record Low 2012-04-29 16:49:20.000 - Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Distinct freezing line on the Carter-Moriah Range It's been an interesting month and a half for me. After being away from the summit for 25 days while on vacation, my first week back was spent working the overnight shift to cover for Ryan while he took his turn on vacation. Of course, I typically work during the day, and the one time every year that I work nights is the week Ryan takes vacation. Then, for this current shift, I spent half of it working down at

Weather on the 'rock' pile 2012-04-28 19:36:13.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist Marty the 'Weather' cat After breaking five daily record high temperatures in March and one so far in April winter has returned to the 'rock pile' with a few inches of fresh snow and temperatures today that will be 15 degrees below the daily average. After a few very calm days on the past couple of shifts winds have also picked up with a peak gust yesterday of 91 mile per hour from the Northwest.If you take a look at some of the Webcams you'll see a

Every track can tell a story 2012-04-27 18:13:42.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Fresh snow on the path through the trees. When we go out once an hour, part of our job is to look up and out. We look up to see how high clouds are as well as well as how much of the sky they are covering or what type of clouds might be present. When we are in the fog, we look up to see how high we can see in the fog. Then we look out, in clear and foggy conditions, to see how far