Summer days on the summit 2009-05-19 06:16:31.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist A summer sunset (from last shift week) As you well know, after reading Mike's comment, the Sherman Adams building is now open for business! I personally really enjoy the summer months on the summit. It's fun and exciting to see all the people milling about, I enjoy giving tours to our members and other groups, and the weather is generally a lot more forgiving (aka above freezing and a bit less windy). That's not to say the weather isn't to be feared, because with summer comes a

Opening Day 2009-05-18 04:58:19.000 - Mike Carmon,  Observer and Meteorologist The First of Many So now for a follow-up to my comment of a few days ago...The summit and auto road are officially open! Despite some winds that were a bit stronger than expected, and some intermittent fog that rolled in a little bit earlier than we anticipated, we had many visitors on the summit for the first day of the season on Saturday. In fact, later in the afternoon, rain moved in, giving any remaining visitors a refreshing shower, Mt. Washington style (which on this particular day consisted of

Ryan Buckley visits mount washington 2009-05-16 07:45:04.000 - Ryan Buckley,  Former Intern Humor and entertainment take on a whole new meaning when it comes to the summit. The long strands of inside jokes between co-workers become so mangled, knotted, and intertwined that almost every word that is said can be referenced back and a joke can be formulated creating immense laughter, sometimes uncontrollable. This ability comes with an 8 day long shift spent with the same people cooped up inside with no outside influences to speak of. After not being part of a shift for quite some time a good

Transition 2009-05-14 05:38:00.000 - Mike Carmon,  Observer and Meteorologist NULL Transition is the word! For one thing, we are watching the landscape outside of our office window transform from a white icy/snowy dessert into a land of rocks and sedge. Instead of the sounds of snow and ice falling from the sky, I'm hearing residual ice falling off the tower as it melts due to temperatures that are more and more consistently above freezing. And instead of forecasting wind chills and snowfall amounts, I'm mentioning rain and thunderstorms during forecast discussions. Not only is the weather transitioning from winter to

A Week Volunteering 2009-05-12 18:30:06.000 - Althea Goundrey,  Summit Volunteer A Beautiful Sunset Today, while at the summit of Mt. Clay, was the first day that I was in a sun snow shower. It was just one more type of weather condition to add to the past seven days worth of a variety of conditions. With these, a fine shift crew, and my seasoned partner, Paul, I have enjoyed my first volunteer shift at the MWO.We have had at least 3 days with good views. Saturday started as a relatively calm, sunny day that was just right for Paul to

No really - it's May. 2009-05-11 18:44:47.000 - Ali Boris,  Summit Intern Looking west at the mixing layer above the summit No really - it's May.We awoke yesterday morning to a wintry scene rather than the sedgey, golden mountaintop of the night before. I finally experience a thunderstorm up here on Saturday night, though! Friday night, Mike and I took a hike which ended at Nelson Crag in time to watch a big cumulonimbus with real lightning potential roll by, but the big event came as Ryan predicted the following night. The observers claimed that the storm was only a

Happy (day late) Mothers Day! 2009-05-10 23:43:38.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist A true sight of summer. Greetings, from the summit of Mt. Washington! I hope all the mothers of the world had a Happy Mothers Day. I heard that some people hiked up the summit yesterday with their mothers or rode the cog up with them. If your mom is a fan of winter-like weather, then yesterday was awesome for them. If not, you're probably thinking of some other way of making it up to them for ruining their special day by taking them to such a cold and

A Mixed Weather Day 2009-05-09 16:18:52.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Interesting Rainbow from Yesterday It has been a nice mix of weather today. I woke up at 5:30 to find a chaotic sky, with patchy fog in the valleys below, convective cumulus at eye level, several layers of alto clouds, and even some high cirrus to top things off. As the hours passed and daytime heating commenced, the once small cumulus clouds rapidly grew in size, hovering just a few hundred feet above the summit. Clouds were building in fast and it would not be long before they lowered

Letting go of winter 2009-05-08 16:53:34.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist Warm temperatures and wet fog take their toll It's getting to be that time of year on the mountain that I am forced, kicking and screaming, to let go of winter. The average temperature for tomorrow is 33 degrees, the first day with an average temperature above freezing since October 9. Temperatures have been above the average lately and that, coupled with plenty of wet fog, has eliminated pretty much all the snow on the summit itself. Of course the gullies, ravines, and deeper snowfields are still hanging

Hopping Rocks in the Fog 2009-05-07 16:00:04.000 - Ali Boris,  Summit Intern Undercast on the rocks As we head into the summer season when one and all can come up to enjoy the observatory, spring has sprung and the snow has all but melted away on the summit cone. It's still quite a change of climate to arrive at work every other Wednesday, but I'm discovering new details about our mountaintop home as I see it for the first time in its rocky, sedgey glory. Angles, ground coverings, and colors are now exposed from beneath the blankets of snow and