How much snow is really on the summit? 2012-01-30 17:34:16.000 - Brian Fitzgerald,  Summit Intern NULL So begins my second week on the summit as the 'esteemed winter intern'. With projects, radio reports, and many visitors frequenting the Observatory it's actually easy to forget that I'm sitting atop the highest peak in the Northeast. Our bunker-like facility, near constant fog and ice-covered windows only adds to the effect. I've been spending my time lately looking back at historical snowfall data purposefully looking at some of Mount Washington's meanest and leanest winters. Our best example of a mean winter on top

Weekly Weather Summary January 22-28 2012-01-29 21:56:50.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Weather 1/22-1/28 WEEKLY WEATHER SUMMARYJanuary 22-28Once again this week the frequency and intensity of weather disturbances approached normal midwinter levels. However, with temperatures well above long term climatology, a significant share of the precipitation occurred in the form of mixed frozen, freezing and liquid varieties. On each of the seven days daily mean temperature exceeded normal and averaged 12.7 degrees above normal overall. With upper-level winds consistently positioned to steer storms over or west of the region, New Hampshire has repeatedly seen the relatively warm

We are back on line 2012-01-28 10:03:24.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist We're back! Perhaps you noticed that the website stopped updating yesterday morning? Luckily the reason for this was weather related rather than any major technical failures at this end. The storm that passed through yesterday brought some snow to start with before turning over to freezing rain in the morning as temperatures slowly rose. Unfortunately for us freezing rain forms glaze ice over everything it touches and within a couple of hours the microwave dish, our main link to the outside world, was encased in a hard

Another warm storm? 2012-01-26 23:39:45.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist A Typical Low Pressure System Are you a snow-lover? If so, I regret to inform you that you will most likely be disappointed with this latest round of winter weather.The jet stream continues to be positioned such that the seasonal parade of winter storms is passing directly over or just to the west of New England, instead of to our east. This is a perfect scenario for a storm producing milder conditions and a wintry mix of precipitation, rather than a colder system harboring an all-snow event. The reason for

A Week of Christmas 2012-01-25 19:41:30.000 - Kevin Talbot,  Summit Volunteer Blazing Sunset I look forward to these weeks on the summit with the same anticipation I looked forward to each Christmas as a child. As I drive north to meet the crew at the base of the Auto Road my heart quickens and I feel the same excitement a trip to see Santa would bring. As we meet and begin to load the tractor for the ride to the top I am filled with the same wonderment I felt nearly half a century ago as I rushed down the

Notes From a Volunteer 2012-01-24 23:05:52.000 - Paul Goundrey,  Summit Volunteer My previous trips up for a volunteer shift have been planned well in advance and I had a real sense of excitement and anticipation, the last 2 with my wife Althea (*miss you Al*). This time was a bit different. Early winter a call for help went out that an open shift existed and volunteers were needed. I put my name in and for some reason I was asked to go. So I started thinking about the shift and immediately had feelings of regret and guilt because Althea would

Summit Crew Celebrates National Pie Day 2012-01-23 21:57:31.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist Three Pies entered in the Summits contest For any of you who haven't heard today is National Pie Day. As it turns out there are actually two days to celebrate a National Pie/Pi day. Today is when we all celebrate National Pie Day and March 14th is when National Pi Day is celebrated.As part of the Celebration here on the Summit we had a pie back off and tasting today. There were three entrants in this year's contest, Brian Clark with a Boston Cream pie, Rebecca

Skiing the East Snowfields 2012-01-22 23:01:13.000 - Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL As is usually the case for me, when the weather and work load allow, I like to get outside on the mountain in the wintertime and do some backcountry skiing. The below average snowfall and relatively slow start to winter has not made for the best coverage in my favorite mid-winter destination: the East Snowfields. I actually got my first turns there at a somewhat unusual time back on Halloween day, but since then (until today) I have only been there once, back in late November. The

Let EduTrips be your Winter Wonderland 2012-01-21 18:12:18.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Operations Assistant Tonight's Winter Wonderland Today my Facebook news feed has been inundated with posts from friends about it snowing on Long Island. Although our winter here in the north could easily be better I had almost forgotten that some places still have not seen the fluffy white stuff. Growing up on Long Island we certainly did not have the same snow fall as the northeast but even this year winter has been sparse for my friends and family back home. Not anymore! However for those of you whose

The Other Side of Rime 2012-01-20 19:45:44.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Todays sunset shot through window rime. If you frequent our Observer Comments, you are probably well versed on what rime ice is. But for those who may have just started reading our blog entries or need a refresher, let me bring you up to speed. Rime ice is a white ice that forms on any exposed surface when there is freezing fog. If you live some place where it is cold, it is likely you have seen this happen on trees, cars, grass blades, etc during foggy times