NULL 2010-11-08 16:08:38.000 - Kristin Raisanen,  Summit Intern A-frame and observation deck coated in glaze ice With a strong low pressure system sitting off the coast of Cape Cod, the high pressure that has been dominating the weather for the summit and keeping it in the clear is long gone and the fog and precipitation rain has returned. Yesterday, the summits were fog free with a beautiful undercast (see yesterday's comment for pictures), and temperatures were in the mid twenties with a gentle breeze. Today, the summit has been dazzled by winds from the northeast, a bit of snow, a

NULL 2010-11-07 22:34:04.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist Orange Sky at Night...Observers Take Flight? The winds of change are coming once again!Our last few shifts have seemed to be a story of extremes. Last shift was a prime example, when temperatures bottomed out in the mid single digits near the halfway point of the week, but warmed into the 50s and completely consumed the snow pack in time for our departure.The established snow pack dwindled once again as temperatures skyrocketed into the mid 40s earlier this shift, only three degrees shy of a record high. But it seems the exposure

NULL 2010-11-06 15:18:52.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist stuck in the middle Our shift is often preoccupied with food. Those of you who frequently read the Observer's Comments or have had the opportunity of cooking for us know this. Maybe this preoccupation (and the fact that I hadn't yet eaten breakfast) is why the first thing I thought when I ventured outside was 'It's a sandwich!'. Today was one of the first days that I had to truly let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Once they did, I pretty much oohed and aah-ed throughout the entire observation. Clouds

NULL 2010-11-05 16:27:04.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist Some might blame it on the rain. The melancholy of the gray outside is having an effect on my normally (some might say disgustingly) optimistic outlook on life. Most days I would counter gloomy arguments with "Yes, it's raining and the snow is mostly melted, but at least we don't have to shovel today!" Today, however, the spitting rain and drizzle just make we want to stay inside, drink lots of hot tea, and listen to music. The good news is that I can drink lots of hot tea and listen

NULL 2010-11-04 15:26:51.000 - Kristin Raisanen,  Summit Intern Marty completely enthralled during movie night As the summit museum supervisor, I was often asked what we do after our long 12 hour shifts. My answers always included board games, video games, Jeopardy! and of course last night's form of entertainment, movies. As last night's flick started, everyone claimed their seats and settled in for a few hours of excitement. As I was grabbing a snack, I saw that we had an extra staff member in our midst. Marty had decided to watch the movie with us. I quickly realized that all

Volunteer Comment 2010-11-03 15:13:46.000 - Katherine MacDonald,  Summit Volunteer Sunrise It sounds like a waterfall. It looks like a waterfall. As the clouds dance and dip into the Valleys, it's simply mesmerizing. It's one of the reasons I return to volunteer on Mount Washington time and again. I never get tired of the gifts this mountain gives me when I visit. It's always an experience. When I arrived last Wednesday, most of the previous snow storm had washed away from fog and rain. Thursday was amazingly beautiful. I took advantage and went for a stroll down to Lakes of the

From Fog to Beauty 2010-11-02 14:14:03.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Undercast Glory at Sunrise Finally...the sun has decided to show his face again! Although Thursday was a beautiful day, it has been since then that we have been in the fog. Nonetheless, I was still able to get out for a hike on Friday to try to re-repair the datalogger at Lakes. After a foggy, snowy, and slightly windy hike down, I set to troubleshooting the logger. I have a reasonable clue as to what might be wrong, but it will take another trip and some hardware from the

Looking back at October 2010-11-01 22:17:22.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist NULL Well, October is officially in the books, both figuratively and literally. Well, almost literally.Ryan is in the process of finishing up monthly check, which is a process that our meteorological observers go through after each month has passed to check forms for errors and compile various averages and other data from the previous month. As I'm sure you can imagine, there are a lot statistics I could throw at you right now, but instead I'd like to just highlight the two that I find most interesting and

Halloween 2010-10-31 18:15:59.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Trick or Treat? Happy Halloween!At this moment, people are getting dressed up for trick or treating or various parties they have planned. Porch lights are coming on and bowls of candy are being prepared to hand out. And in no time, several ghouls, ghosts, goblins, etc will be roaming the streets. On the summit however, we are celebrating in different ways. We'll carve up our pumpkins. We'll leave the porch light on (just in case of a hiker emergency). We'll prepare a bowl of candy to consume ourselves. And in no time,

Fog 2010-10-30 20:28:38.000 - Erica Sandschulte,  Summit Intern Rime ice formed by frozen fog It's white. It has a relative humidity near 100%. It can reduce visibility to zero. Take one guess...Fog. It is briefed about in comments quite often because it is a common weather phenomenon in winter up here. In fact, the summit stays in the fog over 60% in an entire year. Fog is made up of tiny droplets of water that are so small that it would take millions of them to make a single tablespoonful of water! Or if you take piece of string, cut