NULL 2009-06-24 10:32:40.000 - Tom Soisson,  Summit Volunteer NULL Hi, my name is Tom and I am the volunteer at MWO for this week. I am here because I thought that it would be an interesting place to spend some time. And it is. The views and the weather are very interesting. Also, as an ex-science teacher, watching the laboratory work and being able to ask endless questions of the staff is fun. In exchange, I have to cook. I'm not a cook. After 6 days I'm sure the staff has figured that out. In my mind it's a necessary

Wxworms 2009-06-22 16:52:38.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Marty looking over an undercast from June 19th. Back in April, I was reading an article by Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly about his trouble with Earworms. After reading the article, I realized I have been "infected" by Earworms many times in my life and in fact most of you reading this have also caught the "bug" at some point. But fear not as this bug is not contagious per say nor is it even a physical entity. Instead, an earworm is the term for a portion of a song that repeats

National Lightning Safety Awareness Week 2009-06-21 17:07:33.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist A distand thunderstorm - Summer 2007 Today marks the beginning of National Lightning Safety Awareness Week. Obviously as a scientific organization that mainly deals with weather as well as an organization that works to educate the public as part of our mission, spreading the word about lightning safety is very important.In general, the National Weather Service has slightly changed their stance on lightning safety in the outdoors, now saying that NO place outdoors is safe. At the same time, they do continue to offer some suggestions on

49th Annual Mt. Washington Road Race 2009-06-20 11:45:37.000 - Alex Jacques,  Summit Intern Spectators anxiously awaiting the first runners. Today was the 49th Annual Mt. Washington Road Race. Runners from all over the world took on the 7.6 mile challenge up the Mount Washington Auto Road. While the race started below the clouds, runners were greeted to a picturesque undercast and gorgeous conditions on the summit. Temperatures in the 50s with little to no wind were an unexpected but welcomed treat for those taking in the race.In my spare time, I was able to make it over to the finish

Hedda's First Comment 2009-06-19 14:02:48.000 - Hedda Peterson,  Summit Intern Wednesday's Sunset Today is my third day on the summit as an intern. Despite the persistent, dreary and overcast conditions I have enjoyed myself very much! I was lucky to have arrived on a sunny day in which I was able to perform the common "ohhhs" and "ahhhs" made by most first time visitors. I was also able to tag along with Casey, our Outreach Educator, and Tom, our wonderful volunteer, for a hike around Mt. Clay, one of the northern Presidentials. Wednesday evening I experienced my first sunset from

Casey's Trip to the Summit. 2009-06-18 23:33:04.000 - Casey Taylor,  Outreach Educator Sunrise with a sun pillar from this morning. Observer Note: Author Eric Pinder and illustrator T.B.R Walsh will be at the Weather Discovery Center, on Main Street in North Conway, on June 20th at 1:00PM for a reading and signing event promoting their new book Cat in the Clouds. This richly illustrated children's book tells the tale of former Observatory cat Nin, the poor stray who stumbled into a life of adventure atop the Northeast's highest peak. The general public is invited. This week I had the pleasure

Alpine Flowers 2009-06-17 21:41:57.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Fragile Alpine Flowers Observer Note:Author Eric Pinder and illustrator T.B.R Walsh will be at the WeatherDiscovery Center, on Main Street in North Conway, on June 20th at 1:00PM for a reading and signing event promoting their new book Cat in the Clouds. This richly illustratedchildren's book tells the tale of former Observatory cat Nin, the poor stray who stumbled into a life of adventure atop the Northeast's highest peak. The general public isinvited.As the past two shifts have gone, I've seen some fairly pleasant weather on the mountain. It has been

Optical Phenomena Viewed From the Summit 2009-06-16 17:10:24.000 - Scott Wehrwein,  Summit Intern The recently risen sun tints the scenery gold. Although we've been in the fog a lot, our time in the clear has presented a number of interesting optical phenomena. I've seen several so far, and curiousity led me to Wikipedia to find out a little bit about why they happen.Sunrises and sunsets are one of the most common optical phenomena, happening most days when we're not in the fog. When the sun is just rising or setting, its light passes through more of the atmosphere than during

Summer vs. winter 2009-06-15 05:32:29.000 - Mike Carmon,  Observer and Meteorologist NULL Summer vs. winter.It's an ageless struggle that will continue as long as the sun shines and the earth spins and tilts. Which do you prefer? Do you like the beach, the warmth, the sun, and the sweat? Or would you rather the snow, the chill, the wind, and the ice? If you ask most of us who hang around up here, winter is probably their preference. This is fairly logical, considering winter lasts an intimidating 7-8 months (the first significant snow is usually in October, and the last

NULL 2009-06-13 16:35:11.000 - Amy Terborg,  Summit Intern NULL This shift seems to have, once again, become the 'bad weather' shift. However, even with the rain that hung around until earlier this morning we have managed to stay busy so far. On Wednesday I went on my first official hike in the mountains. It's not until you're scrambling up rocks on your hands and knees that you realize climbing the sand dunes in Michigan doesn't even come close. While I found myself quite out of breath by the time we returned to the summit, the hike itself was really cool!