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

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