Forecasting Woes 2012-02-13 23:58:49.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Oh, well hello there. Is it time for me to talk with you again already? Since my shift-mates haven't stepped into this role today, I suppose I will.Let me fill you in on a struggle I've been having throughout the entire shift week. I've been doing even more forecasting this week than I normally do, and this has resulted in a total immersion in the goings-on with the weather. We've mentioned countless times before that we rely heavily on computer models to craft reliable forecasts to distribute to the general public.

True Arctic Air Invades the Higher Summits 2012-02-12 19:57:12.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Wind Chill Index Chart A WIND CHILL WARNING IS IN EFFECT ON THE HIGHER SUMMITS...Can this be winter at last? A true arctic air mass, bred in central Quebec, has crashed the international border to make its presence known on the higher summits. This blast will be the coldest of the season thus far. Although it is indeed also cold elsewhere in the region, today the Rock Pile thermometers have been running around 30 degrees colder than central and southern New Hampshire. The

In today's observer comment, one intern explores why he has to shovel even when it doesn't snow. 2012-02-11 17:34:58.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Summit Intern Snow being transported across the summit. As the summit intern and executive snow shoveler I often ask myself, 'Where did all of this snow come from? It hasn't even snowed!' Just the other week we actually did receive a few inches of snow and much to my surprise I found a few feet of drifted snow in front of the summit building out of the wind. There may not be an overwhelming amount of snow on

No fog 2012-02-10 18:49:23.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL The day started bright and sunny with yet another wonderful sunrise along with mild temperatures and light winds. So far this shift we have seen absolutely no fog! I honestly can't remember the last time we had two full days without any fog at all, not even a fleeting patch of fog rushing by in the wind, just blue skies and high clouds, amazing. Anyway it's starting to cloud over now so I'm sure this weather anomaly will be a distant memory soon enough as we plunge back into

Battle of the Shifts 2012-02-09 19:33:07.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL Competition is everywhere, even on New England's highest peak.We're occasionally highlighting the competition between good weather/bad weather shift, cold weather shift vs. warm weather shift, etc., in our web comments. Both shifts consistently compete for the observation of the wildest weather of the season, in particular, the highest wind gust. So far our shift retains that honor with a gust to 129 mph a few weeks ago.As for cold weather vs. warm weather shift, it would seem as though neither crew has the rights to these monikers this

Germans Playing in the Wind 2012-02-08 09:22:21.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Operations Assistant NULL Today is Wednesday and as always shift change day. Normally there is a full change of the shift and the people who have been here, however today will be a little different. Our shift will return to the valley and the other shift will arrive, but the three German teachers and nine students will continue to stay through Saturday. So far their week has been exciting with various weather conditions for the students to go out and explore in. When they arrived to the summit on Sunday

Germans on the Summit 2012-02-06 19:47:20.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Operations Assistant NULL This week it has been quite busy on the summit. We had an EduTrip up with us on Friday and Saturdayand although the weather was not the best for photography it did clear for their trip down. Sundayhowever we had a different type of trip to the summit. It has been two years but the Germans are back.Three teachers and nine students arrived to the summit Sunday morning to start their week stay on thesummit.While they are here they will be conducting some cold weather experiments much like

Lenticular Clouds 2012-02-04 08:46:56.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Operations Assistant NULL With the valley under the clouds and the summit above it felt like we were in a mountainous castle with a cloud moat. Today was not much different in that we still had an undercast with breaks here and there but the clouds above were impressive. The sky was filled with seemingly stationary lenticular clouds. Some were pancaked in appearance, some UFO like, and others stretched across the sky.A lenticular cloud is a type of stationary lens shaped cloud that forms at high altitudes, typically in stronger winds, and normally

A Meyers Lemon Day 2012-02-02 23:13:21.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Sunset setting above a sea of clouds today. When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade; and the summit certainly provides us plenty of days I would classify as "lemons" that we just have to work through. High winds, bitter cold, dense fog, blowing snow, freezing rain, etc. make outdoor work challenging. Occasionally we get a handful of days that are just stellar and sweet like a mandarin or an orange but more commonly we get more "Meyer Lemon" days like today. To those of you unfamiliar, a Meyer

The Essential Human Factor 2012-02-01 00:01:21.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist The Trusty Pitot We often receive questions about the necessity of maintaining a permanently staffed observatory on Mount Washington. "Why go through the trouble and expense of working, studying and living in one of the world's most extreme locations?" "Wouldn't it be easier to just install an automated weather station and obtain the same information?" "And, why do we need meteorologists to forecast the weather? Don't modern computer models generate accurate and reliable forecasts?"In fact, the Observatory does have automated installations gathering weather data at six