"First half is over already?" Comment - Alex 2009-07-16 15:53:03.000 - Alex Jacques,  Summit Intern The anemometer we put up, in front of the pitot. Yesterday marked the beginning of the second half of my internship. I can't believe how fast this (and my summer) have gone.I have learned a lot from the observers on my shift. After shadowing numerous observations during the first few weeks I got the chance to conduct some of my own last shift. The amount of work and detail in each of these hourly observations is incredible. The code used for them is just as

NULL 2009-07-15 07:13:36.000 - Patti and Sue,  Summit Volunteers NULL Even coming to this mountain multiple times as volunteers, it's always a different experience. Stacy's comment yesterday summarized many of the new experiences this week, but she didn't mention the friendliness of the staff! We've shared many great conversations and laughs, and we've played games and watched movies together in the evenings.Our first four full days here brought sunny skies and time for hikes in between baking cookies, muffins and breads for lunch and snacks and getting the evening meal ready at 7 Obs time (which is 8 Valley time

of camels and weather 2009-07-14 08:49:23.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist nothing gold can stay Between camels, revenge-seeking cyclists, and an amazing assortment of weather, it has been a very interesting week. Beginning on Wednesday, we were greeted at the base of the Mount Washington Auto Road with a warning: Beware of the camel. Well, upon arriving on the summit, Josh (the camel) was hanging out by Tip Top House, Marty was cautiously curious, and an assortment of Obs and State people were milling about, trying to get a picture. Josh was pretty much the only surprising element on

Flashback! 2009-07-13 05:40:15.000 - Mike Carmon,  Observer and Meteorologist Flashback! I was sitting in the weather room this morning watching the fog roll in and out and caught a glimpse of the Northern Presidentials, partially obscured by clouds. I'm not sure why, but it brought a wave of reflection for me. I suddenly became aware that I have now been atop the summit for every month of the year. This brought back some intriguing memories.It took me back to a muggy mid-July day in South Plainfield, NJ. I had just returned from an evening jog, and decided to check my

Newton's Revenge Bicycle Race 2009-07-11 17:08:50.000 - Scott Wehrwein,  Summit Intern Newton's Revenge Today was Newton's Revenge, one of two annual bicycle races held on the Mount Washington Auto Road. I spent the morning outside watching the racers finish and marveling at their athletic ability. The course is a brutal one, a 7.6-mile road that twists, turns, and skirts nauseating cliffs as it climbs 4723 vertical feet to the 6288-foot summit. In the portion of the race I was watching—just when the end is in sight—the course turns onto the handicap access road, a short stretch of about 50 meters

NULL 2009-07-10 07:28:59.000 - Amy Terborg,  Summit Intern NULL On my off shift this past week I decided to fly back home for the Fourth of July. It was raining and cloudy as I drove to Manchester, and it was raining as my flight took off. When I got to Michigan it only rained the first day, but then it was warm and sunny for the rest of the time. It was quite a nice surprise to have this bright thing shining in my eyes and warming my skin. Then early Tuesday morning I returned to New Hamsphire and, what

Hump Day is here! 2009-07-08 04:29:48.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Tuesdays sunrise. In life, we all face little humps that we have to get up over to move on with life. With this comment, I will talk about some of the little humps I experience working up here. Why am I writing about my humps? Well, last week when my shift started, I learned what a 'hump day' was when I read the title of a facebook posting by the Mount Washington Auto Road. I hade no idea what it was referring to so after some google searches, I

Dennis Vienneau Comment 2009-07-07 16:38:40.000 - Dennis Vienneau,  Summit Volunteer Vivid Rainbow My week on the summit as the weather observatory's volunteer is quickly concluding. As noted by other comments posted this week, we've been plagued by persistent fog and lousy views. I had picked this week to volunteer, despite knowing that the summit is in the clouds 60% of the time, but I had my fingers crossed, hoping to view 4th of July fireworks in the valleys around Mt. Washington. There was no chance of that occurring on Saturday night; we were socked in with clouds and rain. On

Tuckerman Hike 2009-07-06 16:17:01.000 - Hedda Peterson,  Summit Intern Summer time at Tuckerman Ravine This week has been a busy one! Alex and I were assigned the dreaded task of cleaning out the bottom of the weather tower. This required moving all recycling bins and wooden platforms outside and using a shop-vacuum to remove about 3 inches of water. Since then we have given several tours and sorted numerous historic weather records. Yesterday evening we were able to catch a glimpse of a beautiful sunset, turning the mountains to the north bright red, as those behind us took on many

Convective Weather Week Comment 2009-07-05 16:10:48.000 - Alex Jacques,  Summit Intern Convective clouds forming over the mountains. This shift certainly has been more active weather-wise than my previous shift. The constant drizzle and light rain had morphed into heavier convective showers and thunderstorms.Although we have been in the fog for the majority of this past week, occasionally we were treated to a view of classic cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds. The picture taken here was from Friday when we had a break in the fog. Later on that day, I experienced my first thunderstorm on the summit. Lightning did not strike