volunteer comment 2007-10-10 08:58:04.000 - Summit Volunteer,  Summit Volunteers NULL Today is Wednesday October 10th and as we get ready to leave after our first week of volunteering at the Summit we find we have a reason we made far too much spaghetti sauce earlier in the week, we’re feeding everybody lunch today at shift change! It’s been a terrific week here at the Summit with Kyle, Zach, Stacey, Linnea, Karen and Sharon but of course the main treat was meeting up close and personal the King of the Mountain, Nin! After getting the “new volunteer” tour by the previous

What just happened??? 2007-10-09 05:11:57.000 - Zach Allen,  Observer Rollercoaster ride! Yesterday showed a very unusual upward and downward spike in the temperature display. Believe it or not this really did happen, no technology problems whatsoever! The event took place between the times 2:28 EST and 2:39 EST. It took eleven minutes and had me running around the building preparing for some good ol’ fashion Mount Washington freezing rain and icing.The first five minutes saw the temperature drop from 36 F to 32 F. By this time I watched the digital display of the thermograph drop… fast! My natural observer

Let the calibration begin!! 2007-10-08 13:09:17.000 - Linnea Koons,  Summit Intern NULL The Observatory has just purchased 2 shiny new pieces of equipment as part of the RIU (Research Infrastructure Upgrade) project. On the left is the powerful TTI-7 – a high precision, highly accurate thermometer and to the right is the Hyperion – a high precision, high accuracy icebath. Together they will serve as the Obs standard and be used to calibrate ALL of our other thermometers. Why bother with this?The Obs currently uses seven different types of thermometers to take the temperature. All of them give us slightly

NULL 2007-10-06 17:20:05.000 - Kyle Paddleford,  Observer NULL During shift change meeting this past Wednesday Ken was stressing the importance of looking ahead and keeping an eye on any weather systems that may complicate transportation to and from the summit. The reason that this is becoming a more important issue is because we are now entering the time of year where our daily average temperatures are right around the freezing mark on the summit, although it is quite hard to believe with all the warm weather as of late. A nice day at the base of the mountain does not

Night Sky 2007-10-05 22:59:22.000 - Zach Allen,  Meteorologist NULL Before starting my stint here at the observatory, I was not much of a night person. After a few months of staying up late to provide the forecast it has been quite an adjustment being a night observer. Over the past four months I have recognized patterns in the night sky, for example when the moon will rise. Each night the moon rises later or sooner as the phase changes. The clear nights have been quite rewarding. Endless amounts of stars appear as my eyes adjust to the darkness. The belt

Thoughts on the past 2007-10-04 17:08:00.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer Fall Foliage I was able to code “SKC” for my very first time today. That means that during one of my hourly observations, I observed not a single cloud in the sky. I am beginning my third month up on the summit, that might give you an idea of how rarely this actually occurs. With clear skies, and visibility at about 75 miles, all of us are provided with a fantastic view of the valleys and the fall foliage. Last week, I began to read a book, Mount Washington Reoccupied,

A weeks Experience. 2007-10-02 15:34:25.000 - Frank Link & Al Sukowaski,  Summit Volunteers NULL As first time volunteers on Mount Washington we weren"t sure what to expect other than that we had hoped that being later in September there would be a chance to see some of that infamous Mt. Washington weather and winds.As volunteers we're here to help the WMO staff, our main job is is to make sure that the staff has a good dinner every night and that the living quarters are maintained. It was fun cooking for them- hopefully they enjoyed our meals. But what ever

Monday 2007-10-01 17:44:40.000 - Aubrie Pace,  Summit Intern Observers Unite! Monday morning began with 2 absentees. First Sharon, our Museum Attendant, was not feeling well and decided to go down the mountain. Then Stacey, our Educational Observer, changed shifts and today was her last day with us. One position on our decreasing roster was filled though, by Bill, the Observatory’s Retail Manager who will join us until Sharon is hopefully well on Wednesday. Nonetheless, things felt a little different throughout the course of the day. Brian was alone while Peter and I worked the museum. Many songs went unsung by

breaking out of the clouds 2007-09-30 20:48:15.000 - Peter Sciola,  Summit Intern Sunset Finally, we broke out of the fog last night to a bright waning moon and a partial undercast. Needless to say I was excited because perhaps, just maybe, we would be able to witness the tree colors popping all throughout the mountain range for the first time since my shift started on Wednesday. Oh, and the parents are going to stop by. And what a gorgeous day it was. All throughout the valleys and slopes, reds, oranges and yellows were popping in unison as temperatures had dropped

Thoughts on learning 2007-09-29 16:02:20.000 - Stacey Kawecki,  Observer Books Today the summit was proud to host Richard Hendrickson for his first visit to the top of Mount Washington. This man has been forecasting for as long as the observatory has been operational, 75 years. He is a walking climate record for his hometown in Long Island. He and his family very generously provided the Observatory with two books, written, and signed, by Mr. Hendrickson himself. These books are a fascinating history of folklore, farming, and weather in the “Fish Tail” of Long Island, complete with photographs from before WWI,