What a day! 2009-10-27 20:48:20.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist Ryan taking pictures at sunrise I'm not going to say much in this comment. Not because I don't have much to say, but because I'd much rather let the pictures and video I took today speak for themselves.Sunrise this morning was nothing short of spectacular. The thumbnail picture attached to this comment is of the sunrise, and here are a few more:Mike and Ryan enjoy the sunriseClouds over the WildcatsGlowing altocumulusAs if having such a fantastic sunrise wasn't enough, Mike and I were treated to some very interesting cloud

A few words from Marty 2009-10-26 21:49:52.000 - Marty,  Summit Cat Spending time outside, while I still can. It's been almost two months since I've contributed to the Observer Comments, so I figure it's about time I make an appearance and, you know, give the people what they want...more of me! So I commandeered Brian to translate for me (even though he says its past his bedtime); I still haven't quite mastered the English language or that darn keyboard. Take a look, in the Comments Archive, at my very first comment on April 28, 2008 to see what happens when

Get ready cause ya never know. 2009-10-25 21:36:34.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Unrelated picture from our drive up Weds. Last night provided a brief period of clearing from the fog to provide a nearly complete undercast out 15 to 20 miles before clouds below the summit billowed up limiting horizontal visibilities. This in itself is a neat site to see day or night but there was something eerie to it last night. The undercast layer was thin with pockets of clearing allowing me to see the familiar glows of Berlin to the north and Conway to the southeast but

Snow snow, where did you go? 2009-10-24 19:55:26.000 - Will Tourtellot,  Summit Intern The snow I long for... As you may already know, Wednesday is shift change day for the summit staff. At the end of any given shift, it's impossible to know how the weather will be when we return the following Wednesday. A little over a week ago, the 14th, each group rode the Cog Railway to the summit and back down, respectively. During the previous week seven inches of snow and ice had accumulated and we were not fully prepared for travel in those conditions. Over the

Sunrise and Halos 2009-10-23 21:10:41.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer "Good Morning, Sun!" This morning I awoke to something I haven't seen in quite a while up here - a sunrise. It is finally that time of year when both the sun and myself look out over the Presidentials at the same time without me having to wake up earlier than normal. The other upshot to this is the immediate alertness it brings. Rolling out of bed and stepping into a world of just-below-freezing temperatures and 30 mph winds will wake you up pretty quick, but it is also enjoyable.

Snow jealousy 2009-10-22 16:58:49.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist The white is quickly disapearing! Last week, the first significant snowstorm of the season hit the summit with 8.5 inches measured from late in the day on the 12th through the 14th. Coincidentally, my hometown of State College, PA saw their first snowfall of the year last week as well. From the 15th through the 17th, 4.9 inches of snow was measured at University Park Airport, about 10 miles outside of the city. Almost a foot of snow was reported on the ridge tops around State College which range from

NULL 2009-10-21 05:59:15.000 - Deb Mastro,  Summit Museum Attendant My second home Times flies and once again it's my last shift of the season working and living on the summit of Mt Washington. Winter conditions have arrived on the summit and my job as museum attendant is over for the year.I will surely miss my 'mountain family'. I know I will keep in touch with them, but that's quite different from being with them on a regular basis. The Mount Washington Observatory 'crews' spend seven nights and seven and a half days together every other week in the mountain top

Power Outage 2009-10-20 11:19:49.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer NULL New power cables are going to be run to the various summit buildings starting Tuesday afternoon. This will entail a complete power shutdown of the Sherman Admas building for several hours. During this process the observatory will be on battery backup power and only essential equipment will be left running. This will result in some loss of live weather information, web cam images and the like to the website. Thanks for your patience while this essential maintenance work is performed.   Steve Welsh,  IT Observer

NULL 2009-10-19 12:08:33.000 - Don Hayes,  Summit Volunteer Maiden Voyage! I have been the OBS volunteer for the week and can't believe it will be over on Wednesday... This is my second stint on the rock pile; the last ten years ago.I grew up hiking Washington as a teenager with my family and have probably hiked it at least a dozen times with friends, my wife and kids and in recent years my grandchildren. I have been a member of MWOBS for at least fifteen years.I have been fortunate to have hiked the Grand Tetons at 11,000 feet, North Cascades

Wind Chill 2009-10-17 21:21:28.000 - Mike Carmon,  Staff Meteorologist NULL When someone asks me what it's like on the summit, I have a go-to phrase that works about 90% of the time-'cold and windy.'I generally use this phrase in a tongue-in-cheek manner for a humorous effect. All kidding aside however, those terms are relative, but I think most of those who have visited the summit, especially in the winter, would agree that assessment is more than fair.We are a weather observatory, but in addition to observing the weather, we attempt to predict it. Unfortunately, there are many individuals hiking above