Busted Snow Light 2011-11-15 20:58:50.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Rime on the Snow Light when it's working. Outside our northern set of windows, we have a light attached to a post which we refer to as 'the snow light'. What this simplistic 'instrument' does is helps us determine is whether or not we have falling or blowing snow outside. If the snow is parallel with the ground, likely it is blowing, if falling from above or at a high enough angle, likely it is falling. It is not our only method of determining blowing vs. falling snow, but it

...back down to the valley, valley so low... 2011-11-14 17:28:39.000 - Judy Heininger,  Weather Discovery Center Attendant NULL ...back down to the valley, valley so low... I have the privilege ofworking at the Weather Discovery Center for the Mount WashingtonObservatory, at the Observatory's valley headquarters in North Conway. With that position came the opportunity to participate in this year'sfirst winter overnight EduTrip: Studying Stars from the Summit. Aspromised, Dave McDonald, Director of Education at the McAuliffe-ShepardDiscovery Center, provided an overview of basic observational astronomy. We learned about 'star hopping' as a way to remember constellations, wegot to check out refractive,

Warming Up 2011-11-13 17:37:55.000 - Brian Clark,  Weather Observer/Education Specialist Marty, taking in the view from the Weather Room As Roger mentioned yesterday, we had our first EduTrip of the season up with us through this afternoon. The participants were treated to some fog-free weather late last night, and then a very nice sunrise this morning. I was especially glad that it cleared out for a time last night, considering the top of this particular trip was astronomy.The fog-free conditions continued through out today, but as is always the case, the fog will be returning very soon. Also, after a

The first Edu-Trip of the season has arrived 2011-11-12 18:25:58.000 - Roger Pushor,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist The first EduTrippers of the season The EduTrippers made it to the Summit around 11:30 this morning after several stops along the Auto Road to do a little sightseeing and picture taking for an overnight at the Observatory with Trip Leader Dave McDonald who's the Directory of Education at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, NH. The topic of this EduTrip is Studying Stars from the Summit. One of the comments I heard was "We went from late fall to early winter on the

Change in Weather 2011-11-10 17:25:30.000 - David Narkewicz,  Summit Intern NULL It was a very nice surprise to get some abnormally warm temperatures over my last off shift. I expected that it would be one of the last time this Fall I was going to see warmer temperatures in the Northeast. Therefore I took full advantage of the conditions and enjoyed some outdoor activities with friends. Even on the summit yesterday the weather was pleasant. It always makes shift change easier when the weather is cooperating with mild temperatures and winds with clear skies.These conditions did not extend into today

It's snow gone 2011-11-09 18:45:00.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Sunset this afternoon. 'Where'd all the snow go!?' - A question uttered by more than one of us as we made our way to the summit today. During our last shift, an early season Nor'easter dumped snow across the entire state. This snow cover along with some black ice that formed at the lower elevations forced us to chain up our 4x4 van at the base of the summit so we could make our way up and back down again. As we headed down last week, our van maneuvered around

Earth Science Education - Mount Washington Style 2011-11-08 22:54:54.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Summit Sunset Dome Cam After a cold front swept across the summits late yesterday, last night winds gusted over 80 MPH along with freezing fog depositing rime and glaze ice. This morning we abruptly broke out into a real gem on the higher summits. Upon gathering the observational data and planning radio show content, it was a last-minute rush to revise the programs. Freezing fog and near-zero visibility? No, wait - mostly sunny and 90 miles! It is always fun to extemporize on

Warmth Returns 2011-11-08 00:11:12.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL The warmth is back!Warmth with respect to early November on the summit of Mt. Washington, that is.After a chilly start to the shift more indicative of late November, temperatures have rebounded once again (as per usual with our shift), with the mercury hitting a balmy 41 degrees F during the wee hours of Monday morning. Currently, a weak cold front is passing through, which has brought conditions back down to earth a little, with the mercury hovering just above the freezing mark, and winds gusting up to 80 mph. However,

Weekly Weather Summary Oct. 30 - Nov. 5 2011-11-06 20:20:42.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist In the wake of last weekend's historic October pre-season nor'easter, conditions generally improved in the region. With a ridge of high pressure building in, temperatures moderated to more seasonable levels, sunshine increased and winds diminished. This respite from storminess persisted through Wednesday, allowing beleaguered area residents to begin recovering from storm damage and electric company crews to commence power restoration in relative relief. On Wednesday temperatures climbed to well above average out ahead of a cold front approaching from the west. The

Lakes of Fire 2011-11-05 17:22:12.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Sebago and Atlantic After Sunrise As the first dim light of dawn began to illuminate the eastern horizon this morning, I realized that it was going to be a challenge to continue the 'clouds' comment theme. Completely clear conditions, while not unprecedented, are indeed unusual from this omniscient outpost - especially on a day with 130 miles visibility. Other than scattered, isolated puffs a few thousands of feet below, the celestial dome was perfectly clear. How does one write about clouds on a day with virtually none