2008/2009. 2009-01-05 17:30:57.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist A blank slate. The year 2008 came to a close on Wednesday and I ushered in 2009 the same way I usher in every new day on the summits - changing our recording charts. While the rest of the crew was watching the ball drop, I waited upstairs counting down to midnight (as always) and then quickly switching out the old charts with new blank charts. In the back of my mind though, I looked at the Hays chart and could not help but think of a few metaphors for this particular

PSU Intern. 2009-01-04 22:01:54.000 - Jeffrey Viel,  Summit Intern Outside in the wind. My name is Jeffrey Viel, and I am currently a junior at Plymouth State University majoring in meteorology. As an intern here at the Mount Washington Observatory, I have several responsibilities to manage throughout the week. Not only am I conducting a research project based here at the summit, but I am also contributing to the work of the observers and helping with their daily tasks.I have had a thrilling experience this first week at the Mount Washington Observatory. It all started early Tuesday morning, when we

Back from "Vacation" 2009-01-03 21:16:30.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer What I Partially Tore In My Knee It's good to be back on the summit after a very unplanned "vacation" for my shift previous to this one. On the Monday night before that shift, I was playing ice hockey. As I was trying to get up off the ice at one point, I twisted my knee to the extent that it popped out of joint and then back in again. Not a pleasant feeling, and as someone that is very active in sports that see frequent knee injuries (soccer, skiing, etc.),

2009 In Like a Freight Train! 2009-01-02 14:44:12.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer It seems the weather is full of surprises this holiday season, saving some of the most extreme for the beginning of the New Year. I awoke yesterday to the comforting sound of a freight train outside my bedroom window and was eager to get up to see just how high the winds were and how cold it had become through the night. Winds were sustained around 100 mph and the temperature was a bitter cold -21F. This was not a day to have any exposed skin! As

NULL 2008-12-31 15:10:39.000 - Peter Crane,  Director of Programs NULL If you are a regular reader of the Observer comments, you already have a grasp of some of the challenges and satisfactions of being atop Mount Washington in winter - a place where both the winds and the views can be in the 100 mile range (sometimes), where rime ice is a near constant companion, and where a three-quarters-of-a-century heritage of scientific work is carried on. At times, it's like a piece of the Arctic (or the Himalayas) that's been transported to New England.For about 15 years, the Observatory has

last comment 2008-12-30 07:42:46.000 - Jeff Wehrwein,  Summit Intern My last sunset When I first started at the Observatory in May, I didn't really have any idea what I was getting into. The idea of living on top of a mountain sounded great, and my interest in weather and computers fit with the criteria for interns. The details of what I would actually do or where I would sleep and eat weren't really my main concern. As I reflect on the experience, I have trouble thinking of many moments that I didn't enjoy. This is thanks in large part to

Volunter 2008-12-29 21:00:15.000 - John and Susan Van Slooten,  Summit Volunteers Sunset - December 29th 2008 When asked 'Why would you drive 900 miles to volunteer on the top of a mountain over Christmas?' We answer, 'It's about the people. It's about the organizations. It's about the weather.' This is our third Christmas on the summit of Mount Washington with the MWO. Did it in 2004, 2006, now 2008. Each time unique. This year, as last time, we first volunteered with the North Conway Believe in Book's 'Polar Express' as elves before coming up to the summit on Dec 23rd.

Century Club 2008-12-28 19:44:44.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer NULL What is going on with the weather? Last Tuesday when we came up to the summit we had a couple of feet of snow and everything was white. Over the week we have seen several periods of rain and temperatures well over 32 degrees. In fact we set a new daily record high temperature of 42 degrees on Saturday and equaled the daily high temperature on Sunday, again 42 degrees. Needless to say the snow pack has suffered terribly and we are down to rocks with patches of icy snow.

Christmas haul 2008-12-27 13:32:36.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer Christmas dinner The entire summit staff would like to thank all of the dedicated people who so generously thought of us this year. Jeff talked about the Christmas weather in his last comment, but I'd like to talk about the actual Christmas celebration that we held on the summit. Our volunteers, Susan and John, made the atmosphere festive by putting up lights in the living room and in the kitchen. A lot of people sent up homemade Christmas cookies (yum!), and I brought up a little tree and a Santa hat. Susan

windy day 2008-12-26 15:13:57.000 - Jeff Wehrwein,  Summit Intern Red and green Hays chart for Christmas Over the summer, the observers poked fun at me for getting excited when the wind gusted into the 70s. Experiencing 70 mph winds for the first time is a thrilling event, but the seasoned observers don't get excited until it's near 100 mph. Yesterday, however, I joined the ever-growing list of observatory staff who have experienced real Mount Washington winds. I can hardly say I saw the day's peak gust of 128.5 mph because it happened at 12:08 AM when I was asleep. But