Solstices and Equinox 2011-06-23 16:21:18.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Meteorological Observer Mount Washington, home of the three setting suns During my first summer up here, my coworker at the time, Jim Salge, wrote an observer comment (see Thursday, June 22, 2006) about our crew's observation of the sunset during the first day of summer. In the comment, he wrote about how the sun was setting at its northern most point, just south of Jay Peak in Vermont near the Canadian border. Or in closer terms, it sets almost in line with Cherry Pond to the northwest. In contrast, during the winter

Lightning notes 2011-06-22 18:33:06.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Meteorological Observer Lightning seen a few shifts ago. As you may have read in yesterday's comment, this week is the National Weather Services' Lightning Safety Week (June 19-25). And while only this week is officially designated as lightning safety week, lightning safety should be on the mind of any hiker, especially during the summer season. I'm not saying we don't get lightning in the winter, it's just less common than the summer season. So, since it is summer, and I overhear a lot of hikers up here and down in the various stores

Vol Comment 2011-06-21 17:42:56.000 - Barbara Marino,  Summit Volunteer Sunset In August 2010 I found out that I would spend a week volunteering at the Observatory. Kim gave me the best week of the year: mid June 2011. A week with a full moon, the Mt. Washington Road Race, Bike Week and Mini's on Top. If that was not enough happiness, the days would be their longest and surely after cooking a fantastic dinner I would get time to see sunsets and hike in the dark and watch the moon. And if they like me, I GET TO GO BACK

Another fabulous day! 2011-06-20 18:35:33.000 - Erin Diveny,  Summit Museum Supervisor NULL What a beautiful weekend here on the summit! We had two days in a row of beautiful views and great weather (although all the visitors to the museum complained it was "too cold"). Due to the colder weather hats, gloves and sweatshirts were flying off the shelves!On Sunday I was up bright and early to open the museum at 3:30am for the sunrise ride that the auto road hosted. It started off in the clouds but cleared up nicely for a decent sunrise. For some visitors getting up

NULL 2011-06-19 14:36:56.000 - Peter Strand,  Summit Intern Mini Coopers emerging from the fog I think it's safe to say that the summer season has begun! The children are out of school and people from all over the country are traveling to beautiful Mount Washington. This weekend was especially busy. Thousands of families, pets and robots visited the summit and were treated to a myriad of different weather conditions. From sunny skies to thunderstorms, from calm winds to hurricane force winds, we saw it all. Not to mention the many activities that took place here.Saturday morning the mountain played host

Education Mount Washington Style 2011-06-18 17:34:42.000 - Rick Giard,  Observer / Educational Specialist NULL This week my shift began a couple of days early, starting on Monday with a full day at the MWOBS Weather Discovery Center in North Conway village. Watching and speaking with young families and groups of excited children exploring the interactive displays, I was reminded of why one important part of our three-fold mission is outreach and education. Learning should be fun! If you haven't been to the WDC, plan to go there soon - and, be sure to bring some kids along. At 11 or

NULL 2011-06-17 13:51:30.000 - Tom Padham,  Summit Intern Clouds beggining to overtake the summits After a busy day yesterday with well over 2,000 bikers on the summit due to the Laconia Bike Week and only motorcycles being allowed up the Auto Road, today is a far quieter day on the rock pile. Things will be ramping up once again tomorrow with the Mount Washington Road Race (a foot race) in the morning followed by Minis on Top for the evening. Speaking of ramping up, the weather will become a little more interesting with showers and thunderstorms arriving this afternoon and

More crap 2011-06-16 16:36:25.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer Where are the cars? Today we saw no cars or trucks on the Auto Road! Even though it's been a nice summer day up here with calm winds (25 mph or so) and hot temperatures (low 50s) we saw no 4 wheeled vehicles. The reason? - well as part of the famous Laconia Bike Week the Mt. Washington Auto Road was only open to motorcycles today. As you can imagine we saw lots of bikes instead.This weekend will also feature several Auto Road events - the first off is the Mount

Shifts 2011-06-15 18:12:21.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist Crepuscular Rays & Distant Showers The theme laced throughout this comment is going to be one of extreme swings in trends.I normally would not point out the underlying theme of a comment from the get go, but my act of doing so is directly in line with the theme--it is quite a shift from my normal way of doing things.During my time off this past week, I descended to the valley amidst some very hot and muggy conditions. By the time I arrived in New Jersey on Thursday, June 9th, the mercury

Shopping 2011-06-14 15:23:32.000 - Werner Griesshammer,  Summit Volunteer NULL A full week on the summit of Mount Washington!A while ago, we had applied to work as volunteers for the Mount Washington Observatory and an old dream has become true.Last Wednesday, my wife Conny and I were greeted by the summit with sunshine and almost record temperatures. But the next day the stone pile showed its real face: in and out of the clouds and low temperatures. Over the next days, dressed warmly, we managed to hike down to the Alpine Garden and enjoyed the flowers that dare to bloom at