Out of the Clouds 2007-07-09 01:59:49.000 - Zach Allen,  Meteorologist Evening on the rockpile... Greetings from your friendly Mount Washington Observatory night observer!Something wonderful happened as I began the night shift… we broke out of the fog! The summit received more sunlight in the first hour out we broke out then we have had since late Wednesday afternoon. The sun was more then welcome to the summit as it set up for a fantastic evening.Conditions were good, to great, to fantastic as the evening progressed. Each observation had increasing dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures which gave us relative humidity

Anatomy of a thunderstorm... 2007-07-07 09:00:41.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer The Thermograph... The most exciting weather event so far this week came yesterday right around noon. Peter Crane, the Director of Programs for the Observatory, who was on the summit with a summer EduTrip came into the weather room and informed us that he had just heard distant thunder outside. A quick look at the radar confirmed that there were some pretty hefty thunderstorms just a few miles away headed right for the summit. After the crew went through the lightning shutdown steps, all eyes were glued to the window

Upcoming events... 2007-07-05 12:26:36.000 - The Summit Crew,  Mount Washington Observatory NULL As there is not much to speak of going on with the weather at the top of Mount Washington today (in the clouds, average temperatures, average winds), we would like to take the opportunity to highlight some events, happenings and going-ons at the Mount Washington Observatory. First off, Seek the Peak, the annual hike-a-thon which benefits the Observatory is now only a few weeks away. Over 170 hikers have signed up so far and more than 80 of those have pledge pages online. There’s still time plenty of

View From The Top 2007-07-04 05:12:57.000 - DJ Lavoie,  Summit Volunteer The Northeastern Valleys It is 4:30am Summit time and I just watched a brilliant sunrise and the day explode here on Mount Washington...Wow! What a place and what a week! This is my first time as a volunteer and not knowing exactly what to expect, that is exactly what happened, the unexpected. The week started out literally in the clouds, but that didn't matter as the wind never stopped howling, peaking at one point to 80mph causing a bit of excitement! Pretty exhilarating to say that least and that

Hailstorm 2007-07-02 18:08:15.000 - Maria Zatko,  Summit Intern Hailball fight! Hail, snow, sleet, rain, rainbow, wind, sun...yes, all in a matter of 30 minutes. For the compulsive weather addicts out there- this comment is a shout out to you. Dressed up in our hats and winter jackets- Jon, Dan and I stormed out to the observation deck around 4:30 this afternoon. Coming from a valley in Western Massachusetts- I have never seen so much hail in my life. The hail only lasted about five minutes but it was blown against the eastern wall of the deck and therefore piled six

June Cold 2007-06-30 10:09:28.000 - Dan Harnos,  Summit Intern NULL 'Is this really late June?' is the question the summit staff seem to keep asking ourselves. Awaking this morning to temperatures in the mid 30s with wind chills in the teens certainly didn't say so. Going from temperatures in the mid 90s in the valley the early part of last week to this certainly was a bit of an adjustment for us all however. Also Jon and I had a bit of an adventure yesterday down in the valley taking care of some maintenance and instrument work, but the return

NULL 2007-06-29 06:00:25.000 - Kyle Paddleford,  Meteorologist Just getting started I can’t believe my eyes! A few days ago visibility was only ten to twenty miles due to thick haze and moisture in the air. Now I can see over eighty miles and clearly pick out land marks such as Mt. Mansfield, Camels Hump, and Jay Peak in Vermont. There is no doubt many of you have already felt the difference, as a much cooler and drier airmass is now in place over the region. I was getting ready for bed after working the night shift just prior to the

We are back! 2007-06-28 08:21:07.000 - Ken Rancourt,  Meteorologist NULL Thursday - the day after Wednesday. Wednesdays are typically very long days for the summit crew. The weekly food shopping is done early in the morning by one of the upcoming staff, we gather at the base and get all of the upgoing gear into the van, and head up. And then it gets busy. Summer is not bad - the trip up is quick, but then we all go into the Shift Change Meeting which can last a number of hours. (Add into that some phone calls, Polycoms to

Volunteer Reflections 2007-06-27 05:30:53.000 - Jeff Weinberg,  Summit Volunteer Storm Streaks... As shift change day rapidly approaches, my stay on the summit as volunteer draws toa close. While I was here I was fortunate enough to experience the summit's manymoods. Who could believe that during a single week in late June one couldexperience snow, rain, rime and glaze icing events, warm days with 100 mile views -suitable for alpine hiking, and of course, the summit's signature hurricane forcewinds which are best experienced outside on the Obs Deck! I personally enjoyedbeing outside as the summit plunged in and out of the

Monday 2007-06-25 23:09:49.000 - Lynn Metcalf,  Summit Intern Tanning Obs-style “It’s Monday.” I groaned tiredly this morning as I imagine countless other people did. The unique part of my morning vocalization is what I lamented next, “I can’t believe the week is almost over.” I would not have thought a month ago that life rotating around Wednesdays would be so very different from life based on the standard work week. There is just something slightly disconcerting about the fact that those oh-so-dreaded Mondays are now part of my “weekend” on my off shift weeks. Of course, getting used to a