Monthly summary 2011-05-03 18:18:30.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Blues, grays and gold from sunset yesterday. I just finished the monthly weather summary for April (which is posted here and here) and if I had to think of three words to summarize last month's weather, it would be warm, wet and windy. Temperatures averaged 24F for the month which was 1.1 degrees warmer than normal for April. Precipitation totaled 9.95 inches which was 1.52 inches above normal for April. And winds averaged 42.2 mph which was 7.4 mph above normal for April with a peak of 115mph. And while none

Snowboarding and Geology 2011-05-02 20:22:52.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Skiing or Geology? If you like rocks, then Mount Washington, affectionately known as the Rockpile, is a great place to be. There are interesting rocks to be seen all over the mountain, from erratics deposited down in Cow Pasture to others precariously perched one atop another. These ones in particular I spied as I booted back up a gully in the Great Gulf after riding down with Becca and Brian this afternoon. Being a climber, I see many other wonders of geology around the White Mountains, from the shear cliffs

Spring is in the Air 2011-05-01 18:52:14.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Summit Intern Marty likes the weather It is a beautiful day on the summit. The sun is out, the sky is clear, the winds are light, and it is warm. It is welcomed change on the summit and it seems everyone is taking advantage of it. Not only where there many hikers visiting but myself, Brian, Mike, and even Marty have been enjoying the weather. Earlier I walked down the Mother-In-Law turn to grab some pictures of Airplane Gully. I wanted to make a panorama and it turned out ok.

Getting out for some skiing 2011-04-30 17:28:05.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist Tuckerman Ravine Headwall One of the advantages of having the backyard that we do on Mount Washington is being able to play in that backyard when the weather allows. If you follow these comments on any sort of regular basis, you probably already know that during the winter and spring, my activity of choice is backcountry skiing. It is a great privilege to be able to take a break from work to go skiing on some of the best backcountry terrain on the east coast. Also, living

Ch-ch-ch-changin. 2011-04-29 16:53:20.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist A quick changing sunset from yesterday. As I drove by the White Mountains in California/Nevada during my vacation earlier this month, my mind started to drift eastward towards the "other" White Mountains in New Hampshire/Maine that I have called home for the last five years. As I gazed upon these mighty western mountains, I couldn't help but think that at one time, their eastern counterparts once looked as rugged as or even more rugged than the western summits currently are. But over the years, wind, rain, snow, plate tectonics, etc. have shaped,

Springtime 2011-04-28 17:05:02.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Spring Fog Back on the summit here it starting to feel quite a bit like spring as Becca mentioned in yesterday's comment. Walking outside for observations today, the fog is wet and thick, something that is not so common during the winter months. It is almost thick enough for a good game of 'dense fog chicken', where two people run at each other in the dark, foggy weather and see who moves first! The mention of thunderstorms is also becoming more prevalent in our 36-hour outlooks, something more often seen in the

Spring in Comming 2011-04-27 16:36:57.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Summit Intern NULL It is amazing the change that Mount Washington undergoes in the spring. When I think back three weeks ago the summit was still covered in snow, the temperatures were still below freezing, and we were still taking the snow tractor all the way to the summit. But as anyone who follows the Observatory will know things can change in the blink of an eye here. These past weeks have been no exception.Today Mount Washington was a completely different story. I arrived to the base of the Auto Road as

NULL 2011-04-26 21:18:39.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist NULL I'm checking back in after 24 hours, to continue my narrative from yesterday.With over a half of an inch of rain falling, and a foreboding radar to our west, the water flow into our tower has intensified. Not only that, but we are compelled to keep one of our tower doors slightly cracked in order to allow the hose from the sump pump to release its contents safely outdoors. Because of the copious amount of moisture hanging in the air outside, our tower has become a foggy mess. Sure, it's been

NULL 2011-04-25 20:56:21.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist Our Own River Water, water, everywhere!April certainly has a reputation for being a wet month across the country, and it has certainly lived up to its name, even up here. We've indeed had the April showers (some rain, some snow, some ice), but the more significant hydro-issue has been the melting snow and ice pack. If you've visited the summit, you know we boast a summertime entrance/exit to our tower known as the submarine (or 'sub') door, which is located at the base of our tower on the west-northwest side. During the

NULL 2011-04-24 16:22:05.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist not yet but soon... Happy Easter from the summit of Mount Washington! This will be my third time celebrating this holiday at the Observatory. The first year was memorable because we hit the highest wind speed I've ever seen on the summit that weekend, 145 mph! The second year (which was last year), the weather was just the opposite: warm, calm, clear, sunny. This year the weather seems to be a bit confused. It is neither windy and cold nor sunny and warm. Right now, as a pork loin roasts in