Busy Shift 2011-04-15 23:31:24.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist NULL This shift has been a very eventful one, and it's not even half over yet. Things were a little 'off' right from the beginning, due to Ryan being on vacation. This means that Mike and I do some different shifts than usual in order to cover the overnight shift that Ryan typically works. Over the last several years, when Ryan takes vacation, Mike and I have experimented with several different shifts. This time, we settled on working 10-10 shifts; I work from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. and then

NYC Trip 2011-04-14 11:39:20.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Summit Intern Times Square This past off week was just as crammed packed and adventurous as they always are for me, however I had Observers Ryan and Bryan as well as Brian's girl friend Laura along for the ride. Our adventure started around 5am Saturday morning. Brian swung by to pick Ryan and I up before we headed to Saddleback Maine. We arrived at Saddleback just after 9am and were on the slopes under blue bird skies shortly thereafter. We could even see the summit of Mount Washington from Saddleback. The conditions were

NULL 2011-04-12 18:16:01.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist Happy Big Wind Day! Happy Big Wind Day! 77 years ago, the infant Mount Washington Observatory became world known. The observers recorded a world record wind speed of 231 mph! That world record held until 1996. Even though we can no longer boast the world record, we can claim the highest wind speed recorded by man. The summit of Mount Washington consistently experiences winds in excess of 100 mph (on average, 1 out of every 4 days in the winter). It seemed like the weather was in a celebratory mood today.

floods 2011-04-11 23:07:05.000 - Cara Rudio,  Marketing and Communications Coordinator Mount Washington never fails to deliver.I know, that statement is a bit overdone, right? Yet every time I'm up here I'm reminded of just how true it is.It's Marketing & Communications Coordinator Cara Rudio here, on the summit for a few days with some special guests. We ascended the mountain on Sunday, enjoying bluebird skies, mild temps, calm winds and amazing visibility. The beautiful weather allowed us to linger outside all afternoon, taking in the views and snapping photos to our heart's content. Most of the group had never been

NULL 2011-04-10 15:59:04.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist NULL At last! The weather is finally starting to get interesting! Since arriving on Wednesday (which was a characteristically foggy day) the weather hasn't done much to surprise us. In fact, some might say the fog machine has been broken, or someone's been tampering with it. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday have been primarily fog-free. It is only late today that the clouds have become thick enough for the sun to cease casting shadows and the ominous haze from the west has been encroaching upon our visibility. We're down to about

Cupcakes 2011-04-09 19:43:38.000 - David Quigley,  Summit Intern NULL 6:58 PM ESTDave here, sitting at the table with a persistent 'tick, tick, tick' in my right ear. Many things 'tick' in this world, not all of them good. Luckily for me, I am not sitting next to a ticking time bomb, nor am I counting the ticks of a clock during the last class before summer break. The 'ticking' I am experiencing is the timer on our electric counter-top oven. What is in the oven? Let me take a brief aside.-- I have attended many birthday parties in my life.

More crap 2011-04-08 22:32:18.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer NULL It really does appear to be the season for vacations up here at the observatory. Stacey has just returned from one and Mike is away this shift. That means I'm working the night shift for the second time in a month and so far I'm settling into the routine much better than last time. The weather has been much nicer too - this is the second night in a row that the sky has been clear and I can see the stars shining brilliantly above - it certainly is a

NULL 2011-04-07 19:07:31.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist one of my many vacation destinations! I have returned from my vacation, ready to break the silence that settled on the summit last week! To be completely honest, on Tuesday (fueled by gloomy rain and the fact that it had been 75 degrees and sunny when I left the mid-Atlantic) the 'back to work' blues started to kick in. Those quickly evaporated yesterday (as on Wednesdays, there usually isn't time to be grumpy) and completely vanished this morning! Though I was a little late for sunrise, during my first observation the

Vol Comment 2011-04-06 20:01:36.000 - Laura Hardy,  Summit Volunteer At the summit This was not your typical Spring Break vacation. Having volunteered for my first time last summer, this is my first winter stint at the summit. It was a bit of an adjustment to my system, having just flown in from sunny Florida and record high temperatures. Quite frankly, it has been nice to stall the heat of summer for just a little longer. And what a way to do it, with 60 - 100 mph winds, temps between 5 and 40 degrees, and snow, sleet and even a

Noises and Canals 2011-04-05 22:28:45.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist With a sky this red, we knew something was coming. The building we are in is pretty solid. Most of the outer walls are made of rebar and concrete that is about a foot thick or more. Walls with windows in them aren't your everyday run of the mill windows either. Tower and basement windows are steel framed, double paned, and shatter resistant. Most of these windows aren't very large and are a milky white from sun discoloration of the polymethyl methacrylate material (aka, Plexiglass) over the years. The windows