Weekly Weather Summary December 11-17, 2011 2011-12-18 16:06:30.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Weather Dec. 11-17 WEEKLY WEATHER SUMMARYDecember 11-17, 2011Winter-like conditions have finally begun to take hold on the higher summits. Although not extreme by Mount Washington standards, overall temperatures and dew points are falling and winds are increasing. Whereas precipitation had recently been largely liquid, it is now trending toward more typical predominately freezing and frozen varieties. Moreover, at week's end truly frigid air reached the region to produce thermometer readings well below zero accompanied by wind chill factors sufficient to cause frostbite with brief

A Rhyme Regarding Rime 2011-12-17 17:31:18.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist A Rhyme Regarding Rime If you allot me some time,please allow me to rhyme.And if I progress to rime,then all has proceeded just fine....Some cold fronts swung through,not just one but two.Ahead of the fronts it was quite warm,with thirty-degree temps observed all morn'.The nine inches of snow on the ground was no match,as the warm temps and thick fog took it down the hatch.Rain fell on and off through the early session of night,and it did not take long for much of the snow to take flight. The

Winter 2011-12-16 17:43:24.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL For me winter finally arrived today, it's been a long time since I've seen high winds, snow, blowing snow, freezing fog and heavy icing up here. This morning we were having to go out every twenty minutes or so to clear off the instruments. We even had some shovelling to do too - definitely must be winter. Now that the cold fronts are though we should see some clearing tomorrow as high pressure builds in. But it won't be getting any warmer yet as the temperature will hover around zero

The Lure of Summit Myths and Legends 2011-12-15 17:38:43.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Olympian View Upon coming out of the clouds yesterday afternoon we were afforded this spectacular topside view of the adjacent dense stratocumulus undercast with streaking cirrostratus overhead. Entirely surrounded by brilliant-white cotton wadding, one might think that this was not merely a mountaintop but another planet altogether. A virtual island of hard rock, cold ice and brilliant snow enveloped by ephemeral billows and blue streaks. On such a day there is a realm of peace and tranquility like no other abode in my

All This Time 2011-12-14 21:58:30.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Marty splits the difference between EST and UTC With regard to weather observations, according to the FMH-1 (Federal Meteorological Handbook-1):'The times that are disseminated as part of the observation shall be entered in UTC.'This fact is confirmed by a header column of our station's (KMWN's) MF1M-10c, which is the form prescribed by the FMH-1 for taking surface weather observations.As you may or may not be aware, all surface weather observations around the globe are taken according to UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), which is also known as Zulu (Z) or Greenwich

New Table 2011-12-13 16:36:17.000 - Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL Today was a big day at the Observatory. No, we didn't get back the world record wind. We got a new kitchen table!If you have ever been in the kitchen on the summit, you know that the dining space is, well, rather uniquely shaped. It is a narrow space, and we sometimes have to find a way to fit as many as 18 people in it for meals. The table that was in this space was a finely made piece of furniture that seved its purpose well for many,

WOW! Days don't get much better than this one 2011-12-12 19:54:26.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL We started off this morning with a very beautiful sunrise and for most of the day the sky stayed completely clear with 120 miles of visibility. Temperatures started out in the low twenties in the morning and made it to the low thirties by mid-day. The deck and parking lot have next to no snow on them as the winds of a few days ago scoured most of the snow off the Summit. I did the last Weather Observation just after sunset

We're number one! We're number one!... 2011-12-11 18:37:56.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Not related to comment but still nice to look at. First! It is something we all like aiming for. First place in a race/competition/game/etc. First in line for a blockbuster release. First to listen to a new song. First to read a new book. First to explore a part of Earth previously unseen. First to walk on the moon. And so on and so forth. It's great being number one. You have something to be proud about and if you're a sore winner, something to brag about.

Hoping for Change 2011-12-10 22:43:52.000 - Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL With two fairly significant early season snowstorms in the northeast this past fall (Halloween and Thanksgiving), I ended up answering a lot of questions about whether storms like that can give any indication of how the forthcoming winter will turn out. Naturally, a lot of winter lovers like myself would like to think that significant early season snowfall automatically means that it's going to be a snowy winter. I wish I could say that was true, but it isn't necessarily. This year has been a very good example.

My Farewell 2011-12-09 18:43:10.000 - David Narkewicz,  Summit Intern Me in Snowy Conditions on the Tower It is crazy how time flies! One day I am riding up the Mount Washington Auto Road for the first time to be interviewed for the intern position, and in a blink of an eye my internship is at its end. It is sad to write but this is the last week of my Mount Washington Observatory internship. It has been an amazing experience for me. Coming into it I was a little nervous about living in a remote location for 8 consecutive days