Dennis' Last Comment 2008-08-10 10:08:05.000 - Dennis Vienneau,  Space Grant Extern Summit Sunset My summer as a teacher extern on the summit is quickly coming to an end. We’ve been in the clouds for most of this week’s shift, which has been a blessing for me. There haven’t been that many distractions to keep me from working on my summer project. My project entailed working with 10 years of historical cloud data observed at four nearby regional airports and recent cloud data that the MWO has collected from instruments that it has installed at the Cog Railway Base and at

edutrip comment 2008-08-09 07:42:29.000 - EduTrippers,  Mount Washington Observatory Under and overcast in a moment of clearing Imagine a cozy cottage with wonderful food, good company, bunk rooms, knowledgeable guides, an independent-minded cat, multiple learning opportunities, views made all the more spectacular when they're only briefly available through the fog, and the world's worst weather. Spend a night here at the top of Mount Washington with an Edutrip, and you will experience all of that and more.Our group of six, ably led by Michelle, is leaving with terrific memories. For weather we came, and weather we got! The mountain kept

Nights 2008-08-08 05:28:39.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer Look it is clear - the view on Friday morning I'm working nights this week, since Mike, who has ended up as our main nocturnal observer on this shift, is away on vacation. This is only the second shift I've done on nights and it's taking a while to get back into the routine. During the day there are usually two observers around so we split the observations and routine work allowing both of us to get other tasks done. On nights, however, there is only ever one observer so your time

Chaotic Sky 2008-08-07 04:25:08.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer Chaos All Quads This past week has been a change for me. I have been working nights all week, which Ryan typically works on my shift. Ryan took a half shift of vacation this week, so rather than switch from days to nights in the middle of the shift (which would be incredibly difficult to do!) I did the entire week on nights.nnThe night shift is a welcome change from my typical days, although I don’t think that I could do it all the time. Not that I have to worry about

Two Volunteers Reflect: 2008-08-06 07:14:06.000 - Doug Mathews & Bob Foudriat,  Summit Volunteers Last Thursday's (only) sunrise... Notes from our two volunteers this week:A week as a volunteer is drawing to a close and with the final curtain comes a mixture of elation and trepidation and overcast skies (as usual). The latter being something I've gotten used to.Elation; I miss my family and personal routines that I've grown accustomed to over my many years being aboard this planet. I have many issues to tend to as well as a sixteen year old boy who needs guidance (and does he need

Comment the Last 2008-08-05 10:27:41.000 - Ted Letcher,  Summit Intern Flowers amonst the mist in the alpine garden Cabin fever as defined by Merriam-Webster is “extreme irritability and restlessness from living in isolation or a confined indoor area for a prolonged time.” As the end of the week draws near, the whole staff is starting to feel the effects of cabin fever. This is because the fog and more or less constant threat of thunderstorms has kept everyone confined to the observatory. Today I fought back! Knowing that the threat of thunderstorms was dismissible, I decided to brave the soupy

Fog...break...fog...fog...break...downpour...fog...break. 2008-08-04 16:44:07.000 - Jim Salge,  Temporary Observer Incessent wall of cloud... Well, it may sound strange, but I couldn’t have been happier to see the thick, soupy wet fog completely enshrouding the peak this morning. It meant that finally, after an almost unparallel bout of indecisiveness, the mountain had made up its mind. Since Thursday, clouds have ebbed and flowed over the peak in a cycle that was at most measurable in minutes. Often a bank of clouds would completely surround the summit leaving the tower in clear air, followed by a downpour seconds later, and then fog for

A STP story 2008-08-03 06:32:51.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Seek the Peakers at dinner In college, I had a class that had us constantly doing an exercise called a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (or a fiver) paper. It was a quick exercise that was used to express ourselves, get us thinking creatively and take observation at the wider world around us. So why is it called a fiver paper? Well, it was a paper that required five steps to complete. The steps were to choose one (1) subject to write about, usually ourselves. The subject should, at the

Fogginess 2008-08-02 15:00:46.000 - Natalie Martin,  Summit Intern Marty! Last shift we had some great weather: stunning sunrises and sunsets, a rainbow , sunlit views , mountain shadow , and blue clouds . This shift has been quite the opposite. We have been in and out of the fog (mostly in) for the past few days and don’t see any relief coming soon. The rotunda and gift shop have been relatively empty as of late, but our weather room has seen some tours, some Lakes croo, and Steve from the other shift and his son come through. To make the

Last Week 2008-08-01 12:41:50.000 - Ted Letcher,  Summit Intern Satellite nephelococcygia: Coastal Skull Let me begin this comment by stating that this will be the last comment that I will be posting, as this is the last week of my summer internship. With that said let me begin by stating the absolute obvious; Mountain weather is fickle. Although this fact has been known to me before, last night the mountain threw me a curve ball, busting (in my mind) an un-bustable forecast. Let me explain further, all indications put the summits in the fog for the duration of the night.