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

Winter has returned to the Summit 2011-12-08 19:38:40.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL I got up this morning to find fresh layer of new snow had been deposited on the Summit. As promised in the morning Forecast a strong Low pressure system moved over us dipping the barograph down to 23.20 before starting to rebound as a high started to build in throughout the day. Temperatures dipped to the low single digits and we experienced our first wind gust of over the century mark for the season at 116.9 miles per hour at 8:20 am.Earlier this morning Marty

Aw, poor kitty! 2011-12-08 00:14:18.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Snowless snow cat scene. This fall during one of my off weeks, I watched a movie called 'Puss in Boots'. While the movie had little to no relation to the short story penned by Charles Perrault, it was still an interesting and comical tail to watch. But the reason I am mentioning a 'kids' movie is because of one of the signature moves that the cat is known for in that movie as well as the two Shrek films that he appeared in. In the films, the cat removes his

Observing Nature's Weather Signs 2011-12-06 19:43:30.000 - Nicole Moore,  Summit Volunteer NULL Whenever I am here on the summit, where there are all sorts of advanced devices to tell exact measurements of wind speed, humidity and temperature, I realize how much I rely on trees and other foliage to tell the weather at home. There is not a tree in sight here on the summit--only far, far away at lower elevations. Too far to see any movement, and all the surfaces right here are hard--rocks and structures. If you look out the window, you can't see evidence of wind at