Planning... 2006-09-24 21:01:13.000 - The Summit Crew,  Mount Washington Observatory NULL A cold front has swept through the White Mountains this afternoon, causing the night observer’s sleep to come to an abrupt end around noon today. Winds picked up to around 90 mph and the sound of thunder filled the Observer bedroom. Soon after, however, the summit was temporarily free of fog, with a spectacular rainbow to the east.We have now gone back into the fog (typical for weather behind a cold front) and temperatures are beginning to fall into the 30’s. Winds remain above hurricane force and more showers

Beginning my internship... 2006-09-22 22:08:51.000 - Mike Renzi,  Summit Intern Rime on the railing... It’s about that time for me to introduce myself to the world. My name is Mike Renzi and I am one of the two fall interns up here for the next couple months. I came over from upstate New York as my hometown, but for the past four years I actually made Oswego, NY my home. I graduated this past May from there with a degree in Meteorology and a minor in Math. This is actually my second week on the summit, and so far I

Warm glow on a cold scene... 2006-09-22 04:35:34.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Warm glow... After one of the busiest night shifts I’ve had in some time at the Observatory, it was nice to wake up yesterday afternoon to the (apparently) serene scene in today’s picture. The fog had lifted revealing a mountain top showing its season’s (summer technically) first coat of snow. The snowfall only totaled 0.3 inches yesterday, but plenty of rime ice on the highest thousand feet of slope helped fill in the gaps. Simply beautiful.As I sat on the rocks below the building, occasionally snapping pictures while

First accumulating snow... 2006-09-21 05:45:11.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer First accumulating snow... A cold front had cleared the White Mountain Region yesterday morning, and temperatures had already dropped about 20 degrees from the evening prior. However, it was a second frontal trough, which moved through towards evening that really changed the weather for the worse. Clear skies early gave way to thick fog with temperatures in the upper 30s around noon yesterday, and temperatures continued to fall through the afternoon. By evening, the first signs of the second front were becoming evident, with increasing winds into the 30 to 40

NULL 2006-09-20 08:24:45.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer NULL The initial cold front has pushed over the peak, dropping temperatures significantly over the past 12 hours, but temps still remain above the freezing mark. The REAL cold air remains bottled up still behind a weak secondary disturbance that will push through later in the day today, cooling summits further, and perhaps touching off a few snow showers. Temps thereafter may not climb above the freezing mark for over 24 hous.Yesterday as the front passed through, we were hosting a tour comprised of President Sara Jayne Steen, Steve Barba, Steve Kahl and

Approaching change... 2006-09-19 11:37:19.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Three layers...haze sandwich! Change is on the horizon this morning…literally. As I look out the western window of the office, I see the approaching cold front, in the form of a wall of clouds. The sight becomes more interesting though, as you examine the gradient from land to sky. While the front approaches, high pressure continues its hold on the region. Underneath this high, stable air remains, and a haze trapping inversion continues between the valley and summit. And the haze is remarkably thick, with visibility reduced to 25 miles. However, the

Summer into fall into winter... 2006-09-18 06:13:51.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer The autumn landscape above the trees... What a gorgeous weekend to be on the summits. In fact, for much of the time, it was definitively nicer on the peaks than in the valleys! Undercast each morning made for grey skies in the valleys, but we were hard pressed to see any clouds in the sky above the summits for the entirety of the weekend. Additionally, temperatures (near record highs) have consistently been warmer on the peaks to start the day than in the valleys, creating an inversion that trapped

Glory and tower... 2006-09-16 15:28:39.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Tower Glory It has been a simply phenomenal Saturday on the summit, with clear skies above, and a sea of clouds below. Temperatures rocketed up to 61 degrees today, which may not seem too warm, but that puts us a mere 3 degrees from the record for the date. These conditions have not gone unnoticed by droves of hikers who began emerging from the clouds as early as 7AM this morning. And again this morning, in the undercast shone another spectacular brocken spectre and glory, a real treat to see for

What a morning...what a weekend to come! 2006-09-15 07:37:23.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer An alpine autumn landscape... I had to look up an official definition of ‘Indian Summer’ this morning, as it is a word that perhaps could describe this coming weekend. While traditionally the term is used to describe a sudden warm up with clear skies sometime after the first frost, I was unsure if you could actually use the term while it was still in fact…summer. Last week a string of crisp cold nights brought frost to the valleys, as well as icing to the summits, but a

Fixing computer problems... 2006-09-14 07:37:47.000 - Mike Davidson,  Valley Staff Torin’s First Day on the Summit I.T. isn't all data centers and crawl-spaces. Yesterday morning I sat atmy desk in North Conway trying to create a weekly backup plan for our newservers when I came upon a problem. The problem could not be fixedremotely, it required hands-on attention (see Microsoft Knowledge Basearticle 909265). "Consarnit," I was heard to lament, "now I have to visitthe summit of Mount Washington on a clear fall day." I didn't want tosuffer alone, so Leasa, our son Torin, and I drove up the Auto Road