Long Way From Home 2019-05-26 17:20:29.000 - Austin Patrick, Summit Intern   Coming from Ohio to New Hampshire to Mount Washington is an experience, and it’s one that should be shared! My name is Austin Patrick and I am one of the multiple interns for this summer. As I already said, I am from Ohio, near Mansfield, Ohio to be specific. I just graduated from Ohio University this May. I guess you can say I have friends in high places as both me and observer Ian Bailey are fellow alumni and have known each for two years being in Athens,

Atmospheric Long Waves and Short Waves; not the hand kind 2019-05-25 06:20:51.000 - Jay Broccolo, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   Often times in our forecasts there a couple terms we use that describe a wave pattern in the atmosphere. Normally, these terms are associated with low-pressure and high-pressure systems. We will say or write descriptions like; “the ridge of the high pressure will crest over the region early this morning” or “a shortwave trough will pass through the area and” bring some sort of weather phenomena to the region. What we are talking about are the different types of waves in the atmosphere. I grew up

Country Roads...Mount Washington Edition! 2019-05-20 11:25:35.000 - John King, Summit Intern   Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong, the White Mountains! Howdy, my name is John King and I am the new summer summit intern. I am originally from Barkhamsted, Connecticut. I have spent the last 3 years at West Virginia University studying environmental and energy resource management. Before you ask, yes it is a state, and no it is not the Western part of Virginia. With grandparents doing 60 years of volunteering on the AMC, and parents who have strong passions for walking among the

Goodbye MWOBS! 2019-05-19 07:20:25.000 - Chloe Boehm, Summit Intern   As my second internship comes to a close, I have had a chance to think upon all the incredible experiences I have had in the past 9 months. When I started my fall internship last August, I had no idea the unbelievable journey I was about to partake in. I was excited to have the chance to live in a remote location while also getting a chance to learn more about forecasting and conduct some research. I didn’t know I was going to experience 171 mph winds, 6 foot drifts

Spring Cleaning and Spring Volunteers 2019-05-18 15:22:11.000 - Taylor Regan, Weather Observer/Research Specialist   Happy spring from the summit of Mount Washington! No, I know it’s not the first day of spring, but with nearly a week above freezing, things are finally starting to feel like we’re heading away from winter, if only a little behind the rest of the region. I wanted to take a few moments and talk about what spring looks like up here in the alpine zone, because there’s a lot going on! It starts with the visitors. As the snows melt and conditions become slightly

What is a Wintery Mix? 2019-05-14 15:44:36.000 - Ian Bailey, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   We’ve reached the time of year where you may often hear phrases such as “a mix of precipitation” or even “a wintery mix of precipitation” in the forecast product you peruse. And you may find yourself wondering what exactly that means. Why can’t meteorologist just tell you that it’s going to rain or snow? Well, unfortunately, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Allow me to explain. Precipitation forecasting is one of the more difficult tasks a meteorologist faces for a number of reason. Current technology

Bring on the Snow! 2019-05-13 12:58:02.000 - Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Once again there is snow in the forecast for the summit of Mount Washington. Snow storms like this one are always exciting up here, no matter the season, at least for me anyways. This storm has been fairly complicated to forecast for due to weak dynamics aloft. This is really to be expected at this time of the year as the jet stream weakens and there is not as big of a temperature gradient between the north pole and the equator to help increase baroclinicity (One of

Visiting Us Information 2019-05-06 08:44:16.000 - Chloe Boehm, Summit Intern   Rising temperatures and melting snow often marks the transition between a brutal winter season and a more favorable summer season where buildings on the summit have the opportunity to open to the public. Although preparations must still be completed before all services can be open, I wanted to take this opportunity to give people the resources they will need to plan a trip up to the summit this summer any hopefully answer questions concerning this transition season. Mount Washington Observatory: Our Weather Discovery Center in North Conway is open

Turning 30 on Mount Washington! 2019-04-30 20:24:01.000 - Ian Bailey, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Last Wednesday I hit a milestone in my life. On the way up to the summit, I turned 30 years old! Admittedly, I was a little sad that I wouldn’t be at home with my family to celebrate surviving 30 trips around the sun. Fortunately, the Mountain had some awesome presents to give me! And I am very grateful for the experiences I had as a result. This has been my first winter season here on the summit. And there have been plenty of adventures throughout

Back to Truck and Van Season 2019-04-26 12:30:33.000 - Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Winter seems like it has come to a fairly abrupt end up here on the Rockpile this year which is quite the difference from the previous few years. We went from having plenty of snow on the mountain from top to bottom taking the snow cat from the base up to just using the truck and van the whole way in only a matter of weeks. All this warm weather and rain melted the snow fast and allowed for the Auto road to make significant