Volunteer Comment 2011-12-27 19:07:45.000 - Annette and Jon McKenney,  Summit Volunteers NULL Greetings from the rock pile! My husband and I choose to celebrate the holiday a little differently this year and signed up as volunteers for the Mount Washington Observatory during Christmas week. This was not an easy decision since we've hosted our families' holiday festivities for the past 13 years. However, we saw the volunteer week as an opportunity to experience winter above the clouds, surrounded by nature's beauty and extremes, and in the true spirit of the holiday to 'give a little back'.This is the time of

A Sequel Worthy of Reading 2011-12-26 18:26:09.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL Today's comment is a sequel to a comment I wrote back on June 23rd, 2011, which was a sequel to a comment former observer, Jim Salge wrote back on June 22nd, 2006. So, if Hollywood has taught us anything over the years, it's that sequels are rarely as good as or better than the originals. But there are a few exceptions; 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back', 'The Godfather 2', and 'Terminator 2' come to mind. But for every one good sequel, there are an endless supply

O Christmas Cairn 2011-12-25 18:42:54.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist O Christmas Cairn! O Christmas Cairn... A few years ago, I walked out onto the observation deck for a weather observation to find a hiker playing with a set of homemade battery operated Christmas lights. Talking with him a bit, he was telling me how he was going to light up a few small cairns on his way down for a photography project he was working on. I thought it was a great idea at the time, and kept thinking of a way to replicate it on my own. So

Christmas on Mount Washington 2011-12-25 00:35:11.000 - Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist NULL Out of the five Christmases that I have been working for the Observatory, I have spent three on the summit. Well, after tomorrow I will have spent three that is. It's never really bothered me to have to be here on Christmas, to be honest. Although, I will admit that if I had my choice, I would definitely be at home with friends and family. On the bright side, I do get to be here with my summit 'family'. Besides my fellow summit staff and volunteers, the

Winter has arrived on the "Rock pile" 2011-12-23 21:03:38.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist Marty the Guard cat - Defender of the Obs It's going to be a White Christmas here on the Summit with an additional four to five inches of new snow today so it looks like Santa will have some snow to land on.Tomorrow evening the guys from the State Park are planning on cooking for us all and we'll share a meal together. The volunteers are making plans for Christmas dinner with the State Park guys coming over to join us for dinner.With all the

Volunteer Generosity 2011-12-22 21:46:45.000 - Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Testing things out As a relatively small, non-profit organization, we are very lucky to have such talented and committed staff, both on the summit and down in our Weather Discovery Center. Without everyone's hard work, this organization wouldn't be what it is today. Just as important are the thousands of members that support us year in and year out. Among those members are our summit volunteers. These folks take a week of their time to help us out on the mountain in various ways, mainly down in the living quarters.

An Icy Commute 2011-12-22 00:06:33.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Madison dividing western snow and eastern rain. Today's commute to work was interesting/scary/slick/awful. If you live in New Hampshire and did any driving today, you might be thinking at least one of these things as an ice storm wreaked havoc on several motorways across the state throughout the day turning usually bustling thoroughfares into parking lots at times. The south got the brunt of it this morning followed by the north during the afternoon. At last toll, some 100+ accidents have been reported around the state from this one storm.

Fairwell from a fall intern 2011-12-20 17:57:39.000 - Kevin Cronin,  Summit Intern NULL Tomorrow will be my last day on the summit. I can't believe over 5 months have pass by since I've started. I have enjoyed the time spent here and I would encourage anyone interested in meteorology to experience the conditions for themselves. From 130 mile visibility to sustained winds above 100mph, the variability and abrupt changes have always amazed me. Personally experiencing these conditions on the summit has made me respect the mountain even more. It's great to have people care about the mountain as much as

A Volunteer's Comments 2011-12-19 21:12:40.000 - Brad Bradstreet,  Summit Volunteer Stage Office at Night Monday is normally the beginning of my week. But, as a volunteer for the Observatory, the week started on Wednesday morning heading to the summit with this week's crew. The ride up was surprisingly uneventful for a December trip. Over the past four days we have experienced a wind chill of -31 F; winds peaking at 116 MPH; no visibility; 130 mile visibility; a bit of rain; light snow; and lots of rime ice. Charlie Hawkins and I volunteered last year in September and enjoyed our

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