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

Rain Rain Go Away! 2011-04-04 17:09:19.000 - Rebecca Scholand,  Summit Intern My typical rain outfit Rain rain go away, come again another day. It is days like today that I wish I had my rain boots, rain coat, and umbrella. Granted splashing around in puddles is a bit out of the question since there is still so much snow and the winds are a bit strong for an umbrella. Instead I have been sitting at my desk working away at my project hoping the rain will stop. I know many in the valley would like the snow to be gone,

A simple test. 2011-04-03 22:21:27.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Frost on a window (cool but not comment related). I'm going to start todays comment off with a test. It is a simple test and shouldn't take too long. Accuracy with this test is more important than speed; since I'm not there to administer it, you will have all the time you will need to complete it. Before beginning, read through the test once carefully to make sure you understand all the directions.1. Print this page out on a sheet of paper.2. In the instructions above question 1, circle every

A slow start to spring 2011-04-02 17:13:02.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist NULL The so-called April Fool's Day Nor'easter did not disappoint here on the summit. Since it began snowing on Thursday evening, we have measured just over a foot of new snow. Winds increased significantly last night, and have stayed rather high through the course of today. Of course, this has caused a considerable amount of blowing snow. In fact, when Ryan went to go get the precipitation can last night, he had trouble actually finding the can because it had been buried by a snow drift. That's