Back to winter... 2006-12-03 08:43:57.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Rime on the lens... The summit has in fact (finally) returned to winter. This morning temperatures briefly dropped below zero on the minimum thermometer for the first time this year, while wind chills have resided around thirty below. Rime ice and a bit of snow coats the peak, and there is a chance for more light snow in the forecast. Given that the summit had only picked up 0.2” of snow since November 8th, it was a welcome and beautiful sight.A lot has been going on at the observatory this week.

Volunteer 2006-12-02 11:47:03.000 - Paul Wainwright,  Summit Volunteer NULL I am the Summit Volunteer for the week, and I am really excited today because we are accumulating rime ice on every solid object on the summit. I am a large-format black & white photographer – sort of a modern day Ansel Adams – and I find the patterns formed by rime to be an endless source for making abstract art. My work from previous visits to the summit can be viewed on my web page by clicking: HERE. The summit staff have been very accommodating to make some rime for

November Summary... 2006-12-01 11:30:09.000 - Jim Salge,  Meteorologist NULL The weather books closed on November last night, and today begins the monthly task of finalizing, checking and summarizing the month’s data. And what a month it was. Four daily record highs have rewritten the record book (including yesterday), and the monthly average temperature ended 9.2 degrees above normal at 29.8F. This was warm enough to push November 2006 into second warmest November at the Mount Washington Observatory. The warmest, 1938 was 30.2F, and third place now is 1966 at 27F. Just for the record, the coldest, November 1976 averaged 11F

Too Warm 2006-11-30 10:09:08.000 - Mike Renzi,  Summit Intern Phenomenon known as glory Too warm.Those are my thoughts coming up the auto road for shift change yesterday. Granted, the road had some rime on it near the summit, but it was the second shift change in a row where we didn’t need the snowcat or chains on the tires of our truck. The warmth is unrelenting as we’re poised to break a record high today: as I write this the temperature is 43 and the record for the day is 44 set in 1934 and 2001. This Midwest winter storm

Records on the way... 2006-11-29 06:29:20.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer NULL Usually excitement about icing is reserved for August and September on Mount Washington. But after a week of warm and clear, swinging the crowbar on top of the tower to clear the ice off of the instrumentation was thrilling. Winds weren’t even that strong, I just missed the usually common task. Temperatures won’t stay below freezing for long today as temperatures are forecast to quickly rebound, possibly to record levels (again) by tomorrow. Shift change for the summit crew is set to take place this morning, and again it

NULL 2006-11-27 12:38:56.000 - Bryan Farr,  Summit Intern NULL The sky cleared this morning to reveal a Spring-like view of the White Mountains. The clouds are low and the air is thick with moisture. The once dry tundra has regained a lot of moisture from the persistent 20 hours of fog that rolled over the mountains. Small patches of white dot the landscape, revealing a once snow capped peak. Gone now are the relative humidities of 1%, the views of the Adirondacks, 135 miles away and the morning inversions resulting in the mountain being the warmest location in all of

Strange air... 2006-11-26 09:23:57.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Mirages of Vermont... The inversion continues. High pressure overhead continues to keep the summit of Mount Washington as the warmest spot in New Hampshire again this morning. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true, as our 4000 foot site on the ARVTP was nearly 50 degrees at daybreak. The duration of this clear, calm and stable air has been truly remarkable, as the summit has only been in the clouds once in the last 7 days, and usually the station sits in the clouds 60-70% of the time. And in November no

A volunteer 2006-11-25 10:00:44.000 - KD Talbot,  Observer Alpenglow on the Northern Peaks... The start of my third full day as a volunteer on the mountain. The usual run of perfect weather while I’m here continues. This is not perfect weather for those of us who like to ski. It looks like Bretton Woods has a few trails open, Wildcat may have one or two. Way to the south we can see that Waterville has snow on the summit trails and there is some at Loon. I can’t really tell if there is any at Attitash. All of this snow

Twas the Day after Turkey... 2006-11-24 11:05:35.000 - Bryan Farr,  Summit Intern Thanksgiving Sunset I am sure you have been asked every year, “What do you want or where doyou want to go for your birthday?” For me this year, I am getting tospend it atop Mt. Washington, a destination most people can not accessthis time of year and in my case, probably the most extreme and remotelocation that I have celebrated it over the past 31 years. It is next toimpossible to gather my friends and family up here, so I have gotten luckywith having three celebrations this year,

Nin 2006-11-23 10:33:15.000 - Nin,  Summit Cat Thanksgiving nap... Meow!I’m glad to be back on the mountain after my hectic week away from my home. I’m not supposed to leave the summit, as I am Nin of the Mountain! However, with the early snowfall in October this year, my veterinarian Dr. Schafer was unable to come up to the summit for my annual house call. I thought I had dodged the experience, but last Wednesday the observers tricked me into getting into my cat carrier, and drove me down the mountain. I grudgingly behaved.It has been nearly four years since