Brrrr...in May 2008-05-28 17:23:01.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer Just a little bit colder! This is not going to be a comment about the trials and tribulations of the imminent Shift Change Day, even if it is a Wednesday. Something a little more exciting happened today…we broke a daily low temperature record! The previous record for May 28th was 19 degrees, and this morning the temperature bottomed out at a ‘mere’ 16 degrees. I’ll tell you something…it is quite a change from a humid, muggy, 90 degree day in NJ to a crisp 18 degree summit with rime, 60 mph winds,

Ted Comment 1 2008-05-27 13:44:54.000 - Ted Letcher,  Summit Intern First break in the clouds As I round out my first week here on the Rock Pile, the most apt phrase to describe the past seven days is “season change.” When I arrived on the summit last Wednesday the temperatures were only in the upper 20s to lower 30s, and huge fingers of rime ice pointed into the howling wind. As the week progressed the summit shed the clouds that engulfed it for the first half of my shift and temperatures warmed comfortably to the upper 40s. I was even

Unofficial Start of Summer 2008-05-26 16:51:43.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer Lenticular Clouds at Sunrise Today, Memorial Day, marks the unofficial start of summer for many people. Community swimming pools open back up for the first time since Labor Day, it’s acceptable to wear white again(if you even follow that fashion “rule” to begin with), and the minds of school children all over the country begin to focus more on summer vacation and less on school work. Well, I suppose these days that only applies for school children that actually have a summer vacation.After a nearly week long streak of cold,

Auto Road Open 2008-05-25 18:35:53.000 - Steve Welsh,  IT Observer First Stage Coaches Of The Season After several days of freezing fog and snow today was a very pleasant change with sun, blue skies, warm temperatures and low winds. At last we could get some outside work done! This morning Natalie and I mounted and connected up a new Trango Broadband Wireless radio to the top of the tower. This device will link to the ever expanding mesonet as well as providing backup internet service to the observatory. This afternoon Ted and I reburied a small section of our fiber

Natalie Martin First Week 2008-05-24 16:11:25.000 - Natalie Martin,  Summit Intern Rime ice bulls eye My first shift on the summit began this Wednesday with just a bit of snow left on the auto road and relatively clear skies. I was able to get a few pictures in while we were out of the clouds of my first hands-on encounter with rime ice and some of my favorite “weather”, virga! The past few days have been quite different with winds picking up, staying in the fog throughout the day, and experiencing my first painful weather (ice pellets + high wind

Unusual Weather Phenomena Photo Gallery Part 2 2008-05-23 15:50:10.000 - Matthew Morin,  Space Grant Intern Halo & Cloud Irredescence One of the benefits of being on top of a summit 6,300 feet above sea level is that you have a 360° view that stretches as far as the horizon. When the atmosphere is clear of clouds and haze, one can spot the mountains in southern Canada as well as the sun’s reflection off the Atlantic Ocean. Another bonus of potentially having visibilities up to 135 miles is the ability to see a plethora of weather phenomena. I didn’t come to

A story about Bob T Snowflake 2008-05-22 05:14:44.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Staff Meteorologist Bob et al As I walk around the deck this May night watching the snow slowly falling on the summit, it got me thinking about at quote from college Biology: “Water is life.” But my mind started to wander like it does at night and as I thought about it deeper, I came to the conclusion that water may bring about life but snow mimics life. I will convey this (hopefully) in the following story:This story starts from the beginning as most stories do. Not THE beginning

spring cleaning 2008-05-20 22:24:53.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer Master of the Custodial Arts Spring cleaning. Not exactly what you would think of when you think of Tuesday nights on the summit. However, this week, we’ve been given a task...and a Rug Doctor. We have been given the task of carpet cleaning…it’s not exactly glamorous, but necessary. After the long winter, and very little of taking off of shoes when walking on carpets, the Rug Doctor is picking up stuff we can barely imagine. We’re preparing for the summer season, when we’ll be giving tours to members (if you are not

Winter is Back! 2008-05-20 05:27:25.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer Deicing The Tower So winter has returned in full force to the summit. Yesterday was spent in the familiar grey abyss, with various forms of precipitation being driven through it by the wind. We had snow, snow grains, ice pellets…all which certainly sting the face if you’re not wearing a balaclava of sorts. Glaze ice formed consistently 2 or 3 inches an hour, creating an impressive display 3 to 4 feet deep on a pole directly outside the parapet door through the duration of the night. Glaze ice of this

NULL 2008-05-18 17:00:25.000 - Kyle Paddleford,  Meteorologist NULL The picture at the right was taken around quarter of four. Virga (precipitation that evaporates before it hits the ground) had begun to surround the summit a few minutes earlier and it was closing in fast. It resembled a shower curtain in mid battle between the hot steamy air within and the colder drier bathroom air, pulsing back and forth in a wavelike fashion. Would it be rain or snow? It was still too far away to tell. A hiker walked around the observation deck looking at what was coming and pondered