July, anything but calm... 2008-07-06 20:10:36.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Natalies attempt at pic of Bretton Woods fireworks July is a beautiful but busy month at the observatory. The summits have finally turned green, the snow packs are starting to dwindle with the observers taking bets on when the Jefferson snow pack will completely melt out, flowers are blooming, and tourist are flocking to the summit by various means to take in the sites and escape the warm valley temperatures. The summit itself has a lineup of events occurring that will be keeping the summit staff busy like the

Skiing in July! 2008-07-05 14:23:54.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer Making Turns on Center Headwall Last night after dinner, the crew celebrated the 4th of July in the same way that millions of others around the country did; we watched fireworks. However, unlike the majority of those millions, we were looking down on them as we were watching. Most were very small and could be seen dotting the southern horizon. The fireworks set off in the town of Conway, NH and Gorham, NH however were much easier to see. Regardless, we were just thankful to see anything at all considering how

4th of July 2008-07-04 16:51:54.000 - Natalie Martin,  Summit Intern Flag on Tower Happy Independence Day everyone! The summit was in the clear with temperatures in the 50s and low winds. In honor of the anniversary of our nation’s independence, a flag was flown from the observatory tower today. This will be up for auction at an upcoming event. Marty has been outside lately, enjoying the nice weather we’ve been having. He even chased a barking fox away from the summit a few days ago. Later today we plan on taking a wonderful picture of Marty with a staff member

Unusual Weather Phenomena Photo Gallery - Part 3 2008-07-03 22:35:58.000 - Matthew Morin,  Space Grant Intern Since the beginning of my internship with the Mount Washington Observatory back in February, I’ve taken advantage of the opportunity to photograph a wide variety of unusual weather phenomena. I recently compiled the best of the best of these pictures and used them in two of my observer comments. Additionally, I used my knowledge of meteorology to include a discussion of how these phenomena form. As my internship winds down, I have a few more interesting photos to share with you all. So here

volunteer notes 2008-07-02 07:59:08.000 - Beth and Sandra,  Summit Volunteers NULL Fog, fog, intermittent fog, fog and those precious sunshine minutes.... It was hard to remember that it’s a warm, humid summer in the valley when we were on the Obs deck in fleece and windproof gear, but it was well worth the experience on the summit to give up a few of those precious warm days. The Obs is a world unto itself with a relaxed but disciplined team that make the next weather observation no matter what obstacles or distractions present themselves. The observers and interns here help

First Week On The Summit 2008-07-01 11:28:21.000 - Dennis Vienneau,  Space Grant Extern Precipitation Can Let me take a moment to reflect on my first week at the Mt. Washington Observatory. It started last Wednesday in the parking lot meeting the other crew members of the week’s shift. The van to bring the shift crew up the mountain was fully loaded with staff and supplies so I rode up separately with Ken Rancourt, the Director of Summit Operations. Ken acted as the tour guide pointing out various points of interest and important landmarks to remember in the event that I

NULL 2008-07-01 04:29:52.000 - Lisa Hodges,  Summit Intern This lovely Tuesday morning began much earlier than the rest. I awoke to Mike alerting me that we would have a nice sunrise. So I hopped out of my warm bed and threw on several layers of clothing and a hat and mittens and ventured out to the observation deck. Emerging to the deck, however, proved disappointing. The fog that we have been surrounded by all week had not yet lifted. We caught a few glimpses of the sun each time a thinner cloud blew past us. It looked like the sun

1st Shift 2008-06-30 13:19:30.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer Jeff and Steve installing the tower Metek This has been my first week working with the "other" shift. It’s definitely been a little strange not seeing Brain and Ryan around all the time but so far I’ve really enjoyed my time with everyone on this rotation. Regarding work we’ve been really busy this week installing new equipment around the summit. So far we have two of the four Metek sonic anemometers up and running plus the 3-cup summer anemometer is now out and recording data too. With, much appreciated, help from

NULL 2008-06-29 14:53:26.000 - Lisa Hodges,  Summit Intern the ladder to the cold room I like to climb. Trees. Ladders. Rocks. Mountains. I know most kids outgrow this habit, but I haven’t yet. Here at the summit, we are nearly 2000 feet above treeline, so, unfortunately, there are no trees to scale. Even if I walked down to treeline, the tiny Krumholtz that grow up here are shorter than I am, so I would not be able to climb any trees until well below 4000 feet. Fortunately, at the summit, there are plenty of ladders and rocks to climb. If

meteks 2008-06-28 14:02:51.000 - Jeff Wehrwein,  Summit Intern NULL When I first came to the Observatory, I was surprised to see only two instruments sitting atop the tower. One of them was the wind vane (which looks like an ordinary piece of metal), and the other was the pitot tube static anemometer, our year-round anemometer. I was a bit disappointed that there weren't more exotic-looking gadgets up there, showing off the Observatory's meteorological prowess. Lately, however, my fears of lackluster gadgetry have been relieved. On my first shift, we added a nifty Vaisala sonic anemometer to the tower, and yesterday