Deadly conditions today above treeline... 2007-01-20 08:59:56.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer NULL The weather that we are expecting today on the summit is what we live for at the Mount Washington Observatory. Very high winds, temperatures that fall right through the day, and blinding blowing snow…the weather that backs up this mountains claim to the World’s Worst Weather. Already this morning, winds are sustaining in the 80+ mph range, and they will only increase this afternoon and peak during the overnight hours. Temperatures settling well below zero will have windchills reaching -60 to -80F. To follow the conditions today, I

A look back, a look ahead... 2007-01-18 21:08:29.000 - Brent Antkowiak,  Summit Intern 48 hour temperature comparison With the recent shot of cold air delivering frigid temperatures and hurricane force winds, the summit crew has been very busy with keeping tabs on what’s going on outside, both on the summit and across the region. An interesting scenario that I was asked to look at has been how the temperature has varied between the summit and nearby Berlin, a valley location, the past few days. Please reference the chart at right while reading the comment. It is a graph of the

Very cool fun in VERY cold weather... 2007-01-17 19:30:28.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer New video below! Conditions on the mountain the past 36 hours have been well, rather brutal. After a 30F degree drop in six hours following Monday’s storm, temperatures continued to slide through the day on Tuesday and into Tuesday night. Winds steadily increased as well, by 7AM, the observers had recorded a temperature -32F and a peak wind speed of 111mph.Conditions were deemed too dangerous during for the typical 8AM shift change, and Brent and I found ourselves holed up in the AMC Pinkham Notch Camp enjoying

The Cold Shoulder 2007-01-17 08:15:21.000 - Norm Shippee,  Summit Intern Summit Soccer Its coming to then end of my stay here on the mountain, and it seems to have decided to give me the proverbial cold shoulder with temps below -30 and winds at 80+ miles per hour, causing wind chill values in the -70s or below. The weather up here has been as expected; cold, windy, and unpredictable. The snowfall from the other day as example; it has been a difficult winter to love snow and live in New England. Never before have I seen sleet pellets come down

And so it goes, reality is as it is... 2007-01-16 08:25:01.000 - Neil Lareau,  Observer NULL Yesterday may have been one of the most emotionally difficult days of my life. You see, I love winter, I love skiing, yes, but even more than that I love the excitement of a snow storm; the anticipation of a world soon transformed to cushioned white. I love the dampened sound in a forest when it snows, the slow hiss of steady snow piling up, the smell in the air the hour before the snow starts, the leaden grey of the nimbostratus. All of

Night Hike to Clay 2007-01-14 08:13:04.000 - Mike Finnegan,  Summit Intern Undercast Sunset Well, we’re back in the clouds this morning, much like we were yesterday morning. However, we were graced with clear skies for the afternoon and evening yesterday, adding some color to the otherwise grey and white landscape. Being such a beautiful night and happily satiated from yet another incredible meal cooked by Steve Moore, this week’s volunteer, Neil and I decided it was best to go for a jaunt over to Clay – there could have been no better idea. Orion stood crisp and bright, towering over

In Memory of Brad Washburn 2007-01-11 17:09:19.000 - Peter Crane,  Director of Programs NULL It is with great regret that the Observatory notes the passing of one of its Life Trustees, and one of its greatest supporters. Brad Washburn died last night in Lexington, Massachusetts. He was 96 years of age. A brief note such as this cannot begin to do justice to the formidable career of Brad. He was an explorer, an educator, a photographer, a cartographer, and more. As an explorer, he led expeditions to unmapped areas of Alaska; he pioneered the use of aerial photography and ski-equipped

6 inches of new snow!!!!! 2007-01-09 08:26:37.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Snow drifts at the front door... Finally, some normal wintry weather has arrived on Mount Washington. Snow, sleet, freezing rain, freezing fog, high winds and COLD temperatures. All these conditions and more arrived yesterday, and look like they will hold for through the week now. The staff is on their way out the front door with shovels for the first time in a while, to remove the rather large drifts that have built up. All this from the storm that dropped a bit over 6 inches on the summit.

Hard Precip... 2007-01-08 10:08:11.000 - Brent Antkowiak,  Summit Intern Smiling through 70mph sleet... As we get further into January, hope for a return, or should I say beginning, of winter slowly dissipates. On the contrary, the past few days have built some excitement on the mountain as forecast models have shown a decent low pressure system moving into the northeast and hope for at least some snowfall was renewed. Well, as is typical for this winter, plain old snow is not the precipitation of choice this morning. After taking Jim’s “recommendation” to walk out on the observation deck to get

Back to winter... 2007-01-07 08:22:16.000 - Jackie Johnson,  Summit Intern NULL Yesterday, with the lack of snow up here, true winter depression had set in. Being on the summit of Mount Washington and not seeing any snow in January is very disheartening. Then waking up to the temperature in the forties yesterday was just the icing on the cake. Last night, with winds up in the eighties Jim took Brent and I outside to test our sea (actually- wind) legs. Luckily for us, the tower blocked the brunt of the wind and all the ice had melted off the deck,