The ever changing Mount Washington 2012-03-02 21:11:38.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist Observation Tower at Sunrise Now that I've been working on the "Rock Pile" for almost eight months I've seen a lot of the natural changes that go on up here. Some change is quit slow - It seemed that winter took forever to come however it did finally arrive this week for real. Other changes are very quick - Like how fast it can go from fogged in with next to zero visibility to a beautiful undercast with 100 plus miles of visibility. This sometimes only takes

Snow! 2012-03-01 18:20:26.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Operations Assistant NULL Yet another week on the summit of Mount Washington and things are off to a snowy start. Although I am bummed that I am not in the valley to enjoy the fresh powder, I will make do on the summit. After all there is sure to be a few hours of shoveling outside to satisfy my craving for snow. It seems that winter might actually show up to the party like a Rockstar, late but in full swing.Personally I welcome winter as it happens to be my favorite. Winter on the

Reflections of a Winter First Timer 2012-02-29 23:18:07.000 - Hilary Clark,  Summit Volunteer German Students in their snow cave. My father, a 1940's weather observer, always told me that Mt. Washington was a place of extremes and that held true for my first time volunteering here in the winter. This volunteer shift was unusual because I was solo, though one of the German students helped me each day. In addition, instead of a one or two day overnight group, the German students would be here for the first half of my week. I would be cooking for 17 people, three

A Winter Week 2012-02-29 00:48:16.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL As Steve was saying in his comment from the other day, it's certainly been a winter week for our shift!We've experienced hurricane force winds every day except for one, and we've also witnessed winds in excess of 100 mph for three out of the eight days, with our peak coming on Sunday at 111 mph. Snow has fallen every day, and we've totaled 15.3 inches over this past week--one of our highest weekly totals this winter season.Temperatures, on the other hand, started out averaging well above normal during the

Weekly Weather Summary February 19th - 25th 2012-02-27 17:43:38.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Weather Feb. 19-25 WEEKLY WEATHER SUMMARYFebruary 19th - 25thThis week proved to be quite eventful in the weather department, affecting not only general operations but also educational events and summit guests. Visiting German student scientists were forced to depart one day early to avoid the week's most intense storm system that moved in late on Friday and persisted through Saturday. Generally unsettled conditions yielded measurable precipitation on all seven days, mostly in frozen form except for a short period of freezing drizzle Friday

Snow 2012-02-26 17:42:34.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL The Rockpile has experienced very wintry conditions this past weekend. With nearly a foot of new snow falling, although most of it has flown into the surrounding ravines thanks to the strong winds that peaked at 111 mph early this morning. Yesterday we saw almost constant white out conditions with dense freezing fog coupled with abundant blowing snow. Today, as high pressure took control, we experienced a much pleasanter day with blue skies and 130 mile visibility, however, with temperatures still below zero and high winds it certainly hasn't been

Kommentar 2012-02-25 15:34:12.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Danke! If you've been keeping up with the happenings on the summit, you'll know that we've had two separate groups of German students visit us for a week at a time over the past month. Each group of teenage students have had the opportunity to spend a week on the summit; half of their week with the other shift, and the second half with our shift.It is an extremely interesting experience for us as well, as we very clearly witness certain social differences that divide our two cultures. So while they are

The Challenge of Winter Storm QPF 2012-02-25 00:28:48.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Sounding Via PSU Vortex Anyone who spends much time outdoors in winter playing or working can tell you that snow, and frozen precipitation in general, comes in virtually infinite varieties. Each snow event occurs under slightly different conditions of temperature, humidity, winds, etc. Each frozen particle that forms takes on specific sizes, shapes and moisture content. Moreover, once that delicate snow crystal lands on a surface it immediately begins to change. Thus, one of the most challenging aspects of wintertime meteorology is QPF -

US Rep. Charlie Bass Visits the MWOBS! 2012-02-23 16:49:16.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Summit Intern Observer Steve Welsh shows wind charts to Mr Bass Today the Observatory played host to our own second congressional district U.S. Representative Charlie Bass. Battling through some challenging conditions, including falling snow, blowing snow and limited visibility, Mr. Bass and crew made it safely to the summit. Congressman Bass was given a first-hand look at the MWOBS facility after meeting several members of the summit staff and getting to know the day-to-day operations here on the Rockpile. After a quick tour MWOBS member and volunteer Hillary

Volunteer Observations 2012-02-22 00:16:02.000 - Katherine MacDonald,  Summit Volunteer Well, it's Tuesday evening and I'm going to be heading down the rock pile tomorrow. After another wonderful week of volunteering here at the observatory I do have to admit I'm ready to return home and see my family; but with only fondness in regards to my stay here. It has been an interesting visit. There was a group of science teachers here for an EduTrip last Friday into Saturday. Now there is a wonderful group of kids from Germany on the summit doing projects for their school. They and their