Research 2009-04-18 11:34:35.000 - Jordan Scampoli,  Summit Intern Lenticulars over Gorham Whether the White's were so named for the reflection of the granite to early explorers or simply snow and ice, the latter is how most people think of the White Mountains. In the fall and spring the White's are white while the valleys are green and brown. This white color is from both snow but more often in the spring from ice. As we see icing quite often we are a prime location for testing of equipment to make sure it stands up to some pretty harsh weather. We

UFOs and such 2009-04-17 16:38:00.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist The mother-ship Lenticular clouds are named so because they are shaped like lenses. They also suspiciously resemble over-sized Frisbees. Taking this one step further, one could say that lenticular clouds are shaped like flying saucers, also known as UFO's. In this particular case, they are neither flying nor unidentifiable. But they sure do make a spectacle. I'm convinced that some of the reported UFO's are likely lenticular clouds. They cast huge, imposing shadows and can look quite other-worldly as the sun plays its tricks. In some instances, they might

icy daggers 2009-04-16 12:01:44.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist painful beauty The objects of today's comment are some particularly sinister looking icicles. The myth that icicles are the perfect murder weapon has already been tackled and subsequently busted, by the Mythbusters (if you don't know what this is, it's an entertaining, semi-scientific show where people offer myths and these guys try to either prove or disprove them). However, whilst slinging during an observation, I couldn't help but be a little scared and awed by the sight of the icy daggers. You hear of unsuspecting people being impaled and brought

Summit Adventures 2009-04-14 23:23:21.000 - Bill & Sarah Young,  Summit Volunteers Lighting the 231 Cake Numbers were flying all over the summit. The 75th anniversary of the 231 mile per hour wind on 4/12 was an occasion for Observers Brian Clark, Mike Finnegan, and Intern Ali Boris to light up a cake. Volunteers Sarah and Bill Young were cheering for a new record this Easter 4/12/2009, but settled for zero degrees, zero visibility, and a peak 99 mph wind for the day. The egg and candy hunts were moved indoors. An amazing shift to no wind, blue sky, and 120

No need for record breaking 2009-04-13 17:57:10.000 - Ali Boris,  Summit Intern Blue meets green with a splash of white The big anniversary of our 231 mph wind gust has come and gone with no sign of breaking the record. Despite my disappointment in not experiencing a 232 mph wind, I'm honored to have been here for the historic day. Our volunteers, Sarah and Bill Young, made us a delicious cake last night, adorned with the numbers two, three, and one (I can hear Mike imitating the Count from Sesame Street as I type). Aside from gusts up to 86

Two Reasons to Celebrate 2009-04-12 11:13:00.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist Our Easter Candy Today is a special day for two reasons. The first reason is the obvious one: it's Easter Sunday. Although those of us on the summit this week can't celebrate in some of the traditional ways, like spending time with family or going to church (if we had a sunrise service here on the summit, it would have been a darn cold one today), we find other ways to celebrate. For instance, last night we colored eggs and today we will be having an (indoor) Easter

A Pleasant Day 2009-04-10 12:28:07.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Sun Pillar Sunset The weather on the summit yesterday proved to be quite nice. I can only speak from experience as to the latter 12 hours of the day, but it sounds like the morning was beautiful as well. The reason for the afternoon experiences was due to a change in our daily schedule here on the Rockpile. Ryan, the typical night observer, is on vacation this week so Brian and I have elected to work a bit of a different shift - Brian the AM hours and myself the

Lisa's comment 2009-04-07 14:38:39.000 - Lisa Zatko,  Summit Volunteer NULL The changing seasons affect the observatory in a few ways. Weather, of course, comes to mind first, when spring rains wash away the summits snow to be replaced with ice. This week's weather proved that spring is here, but winter-like conditions still persist, not willing to relinquish its presence on the summit. Another change that has happened is the end of the winter edu-trips. We had two groups here this week, one of which was my co-volunteers son's Boy Scout troop. They completed their merit badge for weather and also

NULL 2009-04-06 08:21:38.000 - Kathy Bennet,  Marketing Director, Cranmore Mountain Cranmore Summits Mount WashingtonThe Cranmore Crew took over the Mount Washington Observatory living quarters for the last two days. 7 of us met at the base of the Auto Road yesterday, greeted by the Obs' Cara Rudio who escorted us up the mountain in a specially-outfitted Bombardier snowcat groomer, thanks to Gus.Those of you who have enjoyed the Auto Road in summer cannot properly appreciate the excitement that a winter drive affords. For one thing, you don't have your hands glued to your car's steering wheel, so you can actually

Battle of the seasons 2009-04-05 10:03:22.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer NULL So April has arrived and the weather is starting to transition. Over the past few days the seasons have been battling for control of the summits. We have seen snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain, felt strong winds and almost flat calm, and of course there's been lots and lots of fog. The mercury has been right up into the 40s and back down into the teens.On Friday we received nearly two-thirds of an inch of rain. This coupled with two days of above freezing temperatures and dense