Letter to my granddaughters. 2008-12-03 09:38:50.000 - Rob Jones,  Summit Volunteer Rare sunrise. Dear Maggie and Molly, Living in California where it is warm most of the time, you don't know what a New England winter is like. Once and a while you see some snow, but to experience winter you have to visit it. I, on the other hand, live in Maine where winter comes to visit early, and often overstays its welcome. Why would I want to visit a place that has more winter than Maine? I hope my comments will tell you why. If you like to

Hawaii 2008-12-02 06:22:17.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer Upon arriving in Hawaii, the blast of heat hit me harder than walking outside in sub zero temperatures. I keep thinking to myself, this is not normal. The end of November, and it is 83 degrees, humidity is just about the same number. My family members walk around in jeans and t shirts, the occasional sweater, and I have been sweating in shorts, skirts, tank tops, and bathing suits. Tropical Paradise is far too warm for my mountain blood. It is also infinitely strange to see holiday decorations up in stores, on street

Thick Fog and the Night Sky 2008-11-30 06:18:18.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Summit Stars: Sirius, Orion, and Taurus Today has been a nice change of pace from what has been normal as of late. It began with a short hike this afternoon, around 3:00. I had awoken early and spent some time reading and playing my harmonica when I thought it would be good to get out for a bit. It was quite foggy and a bit windy, averaging 50 mph, so I decided to hike down the autoroad a bit to the Great Gulf. It was difficult even

Thanksgiving 2008-11-28 15:49:30.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer Thanksgiving Dinner Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with a great turkey dinner, provided and expertly cooked for us, by Rob, this weeks volunteer. It was certainly quiet, as we are without Stacey and Jeff this week, however, we were joined by Jim from State Park who also contributed an excellent corn dish. After gorging on turkey we then demolished a pumpkin pie before relaxing to a movie. And the best part is we still have lots of left overs!This week has certainly been quiet, with only four of us up here, and no

Meow. 2008-11-27 13:19:15.000 - Jordan Scampoli,  Summit Intern Hitchin a ride. Yesterday was my introduction into the winter commute to work on Mount Washington. Since the summit and the valley have seen snow and ice in the past few days, the only way we could reach the summit was via the snowcat. Luckily everything went off without a hitch (except for the cat-to-cat jumpstart), but I think my first ride has given me the impression that riding in the cat is comfortable, easy, and fun – which I have been assured, it is not. Our cat is parked part of

Volunteer notes... 2008-11-25 16:34:41.000 - The Weeks,  Summit Volunteer A shot of the tower from earlier in the week. The weather, the people, the food, the photos...My third volunteer week on the summit... Typical Mount Washington weather - everything from temperatures in the teens, relatively clear, sunny, and calm, to below zero temps, double-digit below-zero wind chills, zero visibility, and gusts over 100mph. One of the reasons that I always enjoy coming up here.My third shift with Brian and Ryan... (plus Intern Mike!) Typical Brian and Ryan - everything from helping Brian install new test equipment on the tower, in

Life with Marty 2008-11-24 17:08:08.000 - Mike Carmon,  Summit Intern Marty taking a load off When I came to the Observatory in August, I was expecting many new experiences. High winds, lots of snow and freezing cold temperatures, and long weeks living in close quarters. But I was not expecting the antics of the resident feline at the Observatory, Marty.Many times my wake up call in the morning is Marty scratching at my door. I’ll walk to the door, open it, and all I see are two eyes staring up at me, because the living area is completely dark at

Scrat and I... 2008-11-23 21:30:43.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist NULL One of my favorite movies of all time is “Ice Age.” It is an animated movie that is about a bunch of prehistoric animals that are trying to return a lost baby to it parents. I know it is not realistic but it is funny every time I watch it. My favorite character is Scrat, which is a saber tooth squirrel like creature that is always getting into trouble as he seeks out his favorite food, acorns. So why do I mention all this? Because, working on the summit,

Good or Bad? 2008-11-22 17:20:08.000 - Mike Carmon,  Summit Intern The end of the good weather shift? Good things come to those who wait. This shift has been a perfect example of that statement. Before I continue with the rest of my comment here, I should probably clue you in that there is a difference between “good” in the typical sense and “good” in a meteorological sense. I’ll be using both throughout the rest of my comment. Our shift has been dubbed the “good weather shift” (in this situation I mean “good” as you would normally think of it—sunny skies,

Cold Weather and Media Attention 2008-11-21 17:56:25.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer A brief break in the fog today As expected, the unseasonable cold has continued on the summit today. So far, we have reached a maximum temperature of 0.9 degrees above zero and we certainly aren’t going to top that this evening; the temperature has been falling the last 5 hours or so and will continue to do so through the night. In fact, there is a good chance that by tomorrow morning we challenge the record low for November 22. Right now, that record is 11 below zero set