Summer arrives at the summit 2006-06-22 07:23:00.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Solstace Sunset... Summer has officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere! For the solstice on the summit, we couldn’t have had a better day. After a cool start (34 degrees), temps quickly rebounded into the 50s, and winds dropped off to near calm.For the summit crew, the first day of summer brings a point of amazement at sunset. On the day that the sun reaches its northern-most point on the horizon, it sets just south of Jay Peak in Vermont, near the Canadian boarder. Simple reflection reminds us that six

Haze, Skiing, and Thunderstorms 2006-06-20 02:18:39.000 - Neil Lareau,  Observer We code haze as a present weather phenomena on our hourly weather forms only a handful of times through a year. Today was one of those days. The suspension of millions of minute particles trapped in the air marred visibility, reducing it throughout the day to less than 7 miles. That is substantial. Think about how different the air is on a day like today from a day where we can see the snow capped peak of Mt. Marcy in the Adirondaks 131 miles distant. The strange thing is that

GET OFF MY LAWN 2006-06-19 10:05:56.000 - Walter Sessions,  Summit Intern GET OFF MY LAWN! This past weekend was a busy time for the Auto Road. Three different philosophies of travel headed up the eight mile stretch to the summit in relatively fog free conditions.Motorcycles have been a regular sight on the road all week. The largest group rode up on Friday, shifting the summit fashions from hiking gear to black leather. Hikers and bikers both have a soft spot for head bandanas, so it wasn't that huge of a difference.Saturday was slightly stranger. One thousand people, out of distain

Ozone and stagnant air 2006-06-18 05:14:22.000 - Neil Lareau,  Observer I always forget just how thick summer fog can be. Visibility is about 25 feet this morning. The thickness is in large part a function of temperature… the warmer the air the more moisture content it can have and the bigger the cloud droplets can become and thus the worse the visibility can get. Temperatures today are very warm (Mid 50s is very warm for us during the night!)The atmospheric configuration of pressure systems, and thus wind flows, will be perfectly aligned today to not only produce extremely warm temperatures

Bike Week 2006 2006-06-16 16:48:03.000 - Tim Markle,  Chief Observer End of the Rainbow The beginning of this shift week has been met with a task list of projects a mile long. Unfortunately, this work has made us neglect getting a comment posted sooner. We apologize for that and will try to be a bit more diligent in the future.The weekly departure of Jim and Ryan has meant that much of the weather so far this week has been sunny and mild, albeit a touch on the windy side. This nice stretch of weather has allowed the crew to get

The snowlight 2006-06-13 08:13:09.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Time to be replaced... Work on top of Mount Washington of course continued through this miserable stretch of weather that we’ve been dealing with for the past month and a half, but some projects have been waiting for a nice day. And finally, yesterday, we got one. By mid morning, clouds had dropped below the summit, and the sun shone brightly above the undercast to the north. The project of the day was to replace the ‘snow light’ which, though simple, is one of the most instrumental observation device that we have

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream 2006-06-12 04:56:15.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Observer When thinking about summer, one of many images that come to mind is ice cream. It is an indulgent treat that tastes good on a hot, sunny day. Unfortunately, the summit has been in the fog with rain the past several days, so it is neither hot nor sunny. But that has not stopped the summit crew from partaking in this sweet treat. It's not an easy thing to come by up here though, as ice cream is mostly air, when we bring it

Still Foggy 2006-06-10 09:14:48.000 - Dan Huber,  Summit Intern Faithful Observer... Yet again the word of the day up here on top of Mount Washington is going to be fog. This intern has seen nothing but fog since he arrived. He is beginning to suspect that the fog has been creeping into the brains of the entire crew up here. Yet through thick and thin your faithful summit observers and interns continue to monitor the conditions, hoping for a break in the clouds. We are able to continue our steadfast surveillance through support from people like you!Riding in the midst

Still in the Fog 2006-06-09 09:02:56.000 - Christy Schultz,  Summit Intern A summit trail seen by an ant! For the past two months, the summit crew has been quite vitamin D deficient. With a very damp May and another moist month beginning last week, the top of Mount Washington has seen very little sunshine! Yesterday we got excited when the sun could dimly been seen through the layer of clouds above us, but Jim got a treat this morning when he was graced with about five minutes of sun and a glimpse of an undercast. Some observers and interns are

NULL 2006-06-08 11:43:08.000 - Jim Salge,  Observer Lenticular AND Virga...! The summit of Mount Washington typically resides in the fog about 70% of the time, so it is no surprise that the view disappeared 24 hours ago now. If you are a frequent visitor of our webcams, you may know the frustration of desperately wanting to see the neighboring mountains around sunset, only to find the view obscured. It is part of life on Mount Washington. An occasional glimpse of something amazing between long interludes in the fog!Yesterday morning was one of those amazing things worth noting, as it makes