Life at the Top 2011-10-25 17:35:00.000 - Linda & Dave Andrzejewski,  Summit Volunteers Red Painted Sunrise We have been to the top of Mt. Washington multiple times over the past years but to be able to live 24/7 and to interact with the Observatory Staff personally is a worthwhile experience in itself.Our primary responsibility as volunteers is cooking the evening meal which gives us ample time to enjoy the mountain and its ever changing weather conditions. With intermittent cloud cover throughout the week, we have experienced all kinds of wintry mix; from the fascinating phenomenon of rime ice to freezing

Wintry Mix 2011-10-24 23:27:10.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL I'm currently in the midst of running up and down our tower repeatedly. No, I'm not attempting to get in a late night (or for me, early afternoon) workout. In fact, a cold front is approaching, and is dumping all sorts of precipitation on the summit.What started as some light freezing rain quickly turned to ice pellets (sleet), which then began to mix with a unique form of frozen precipitation known as snow pellets. Because we keep a daily log of all weather occurrences, and due to the fact that

Weekly Weather Summary October 16-22 2011-10-23 17:40:07.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Weather Summary Oct. 16-22 WEEKLY WEATHER SUMMARYWeek of October 16th - October 22nd, 2011October is a month of transition, with statistical long-term daily average temperatures sliding inexorably downward from 35 to 26 degrees by month's end, and receding below the average annual temperature of 27. Following a long stretch of temperatures which ran well above normal during the first half of the month, this week featured a return to near-normal seasonal levels. With the brief exception of relatively mild conditions at midweek, the actual daily

Snow At Last 2011-10-22 17:51:14.000 - Steve Welsh,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist NULL As Mike alluded to in yesterday's comment winter has certainly returned to the summit. For me this was the first day, of this new winter season, for performing winter observations - with falling snow, rime ice and snow cover to report. Even recording the amount of precipitation now involves measuring the frozen content before melting it to see what the water equivalent is. It's been a while, however, for me it's a nice return as I really prefer the cold to the hot humid weather of summer. Hopefully

Rime comes for a visit 2011-10-21 22:08:20.000 - Mike Carmon,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist NULL Winter has re-returned to the summit.Its respite was hardly extensive, however, as when our shift arrived on the summit on Wednesday, the summit was coated with a layer of feathery rime ice and light accumulations of snow, with temperatures in the 30s F.Like clockwork, though, a warm front approached and prompted temperatures to soar on Wednesday night, topping out around 50 degrees F in the wee hours of Thursday morning. The result was a rapid melting of all things white during my nighttime shift-winter at the start,

Weather & Climate Pop Quiz 2011-10-20 17:36:29.000 - Rick Giard,  Weather Observer / Education Specialist Tree Rings Reveal Alpine Growth WEATHER & CLIMATE POP QUIZ: Can Your Students Correctly Answer These Questions?#1. Weather is: a.) the state of the atmosphere at any given time and place b.) surrounds Earth and protects us by blocking out dangerous rays from the sun c.) an average of weather in a place over many years.#2. Climate is: a.) surrounds Earth and protects us by blocking out dangerous rays from the sun b.) the state of the atmosphere at any given time and place c.)

Winter is Closing in 2011-10-19 21:12:08.000 - Kevin Cronin,  Summit Intern The now empty gift shop Contrary to the past few days tomorrow looks to be warm (for mid-Oct on the summit) with temperatures in the mid-40s. Unfortunately these temperatures will be short lived. Temperatures are expected to dip back into the 30s Friday morning and persist into next week. Below freezing temperatures will help prompt riming on the summit. Even though there were isolated events of riming in early September, these past two weeks have shown the transition from fall conditions to winter conditions on the summit.The summit museum

NULL 2011-10-18 16:44:42.000 - Harriet and Priscilla,  Summit Volunteers We are reflecting on the extremes of the week from arriving with clear blue skies to our first experience of Arctic weather where the whole of Mt. Washington was covered in rime ice. What stands out for us is the contrast of the winter world we stood in and the panaramic view of autumn colors below. Intermitent cloud cover allowed us to look out at the mountains and into the valley painted in autumn colors. Our time here is primarily about cooking, but this week has been a real "taste" of

Farewell my Friends 2011-10-17 22:26:31.000 - Erin Diveny,  Summit Museum Supervisor As the winter weather is starting to set in, that means another last comment. The Sherman's Adams building will be closing to the public soon, and my job as museum supervisor will then be done for this season. As I look back at the summer, I think about everyone I've met and all the amazing experiences I've had. I had the honor or working with former observer Stacey on her last shift, I've met 6 different interns between the two shifts and the two seasons (summer and fall), and

A Season of Contrasts; So Know Before You Go! 2011-10-16 18:58:15.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Weather Observer/Meteorologist Some unexpected clearing this afternoon! Contrast: to compare in order to show unlikeness or differences; note the opposite natures, purposes, etc., of. A black and white photo can show contrasts in light and dark areas of the photo. A picture of a mountain can show a contrast in terrain features. Or a picture from the summit this afternoon can show the contrast of winter weather on the higher summits and fall weather in the valleys. It's that time of year where contrasts can be