A Once In a Lifetime Experience 2019-01-14 10:05:41.000 - Stephen Durham, Summit Intern   When I was younger in middle school, I visited New Hampshire for the first time back around Thanksgiving of 2006, my family drove near Mount Washington for the first time ever and fell in love with the mountains and the sights. My dad showed me videos of what it was like up and seeing videos on the television of how extreme it can get. I wished to get the chance to be up there one day. In January of 2014 I visited Plymouth State University just

The Deep Freeze is Here! 2019-01-10 10:45:46.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   We’ve had plenty of extremes so far this winter season on the summit of Mount Washington, from high winds to whiteout conditions and heavy snow, but one thing seems to be missing: extreme cold! Overall temperatures have been fairly mild (by our standards) since December, with our coldest temperatures actually occurring before the winter officially started in November at -26°F on the 22nd. December saw an average temperature of 11°F, slightly above average, and only saw -12°F as our coldest temperature to start the real winter

Light Pillars 2018-12-28 09:58:49.000 - Christopher Hohman, Night Observer/Staff Meteorologist   Last night the Observatory witnessed an event that isn’t very common in the winter! This is one of my favorite atmospheric optical phenomenon. They are called Light Pillars, and rarely form around us during the winter months. The lights from North Conway, Berlin, and even Bretton Woods were producing this beautiful spectacle around 8:00 PM last night. If you haven’t seen the picture Ryan posted on our Facebook page, check it out here:     So what exactly is causing this phenomenon to happen? Well, it’s actually a rather

Thank You Notes 2018-12-26 17:14:49.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   I hope everyone had a great Christmas Day, or if you don’t celebrate, a great Tuesday. My coworkers, Tom, Chris and Marty Kitty, spent this Christmas with me on the summit. For Tom, Marty, and I, this wasn’t our first Christmas on the Rockpile, but that doesn’t make it any easier to be away from friends and family from the holidays. Thankfully we all get along well and there was plenty of Christmas cheer to ease us being miles away from it all. However, there were many individuals

I'm Dreaming of a... 2018-12-24 10:06:05.000 - Taylor Regan, Weather Observer/Research Specialist   White Christmas! I decided to do a little digging in the archives, as Christmas comes but once a year, and at the Observatory anyway, there are a few different options available courtesy of the weather when it comes to having a “white Christmas.” I started wondering what the odds were, and thought I’d share the results!   Firstly, let me explain that one could interpret a “white Christmas” a few different ways up here on the summit, and that’s due to the variety of weather we see!

Comet 46P/Wirtanen (aka the “Christmas Comet”) 2018-12-17 04:44:14.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   Working the night shift over the past 13 years, I am always in awe of the night sky. While my background is in meteorology (the study of weather) and the Observatory is purely a weather-based observatory, it is difficult to step out on a nightly basis and when we are clear, not have at least an inkling to know what I'm looking at beyond the lowest layer of earth's atmosphere. There are the obvious constants (moon, stars, constellations, etc) but I am always on the

In Search of Extreme Weather 2018-12-14 09:51:31.000 - Thomas Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   After a very active (by which I mean snowy and windy) October and November, things have quieted down significantly to start the first half of December here on the summit of Mount Washington. It has been plenty cold enough for snow, with our average temperature so far over the past 13 days of the month at only 8°F, about 3 degrees below average. Upper level high pressure across the Northeast is to blame, keeping cold, but dry air masses in place and the jet stream further

Final Thoughts on my Internship 2018-12-12 07:45:28.000 - Zach Butler, Summit Intern   What an experience this half year had been! I cannot believe I’ve been an intern up here since late May, time truly flew by. Time to recap on some of the notable experiences I had this summer and fall. I’ve wanted to work on Mount Washington since I can remember. My grandfather told me a story of him and friends getting stuck in a Memorial Day blizzard to me at a very young age. Hearing this and my already obsession with weather at a very young age,

How Do Lenticular Clouds Form? 2018-12-11 04:34:52.000 - Christopher Hohman, Observer/Staff Meteorologist   We had some of my favorite clouds form over the summit a few days back. They are the infamous “Lenticular Clouds.” These beautiful clouds are very unique to mountainous regions, and do not form over areas that cannot obstruct wind flow. While they are always a treat to observer, I thought I’d spend this blog talking a little bit about how they form.     So, the graph above here has some fancy terms, but I’ll break it down for you to understand. Imagine for a moment

Keeping in Shape while Working on the Summit 2018-12-07 15:55:25.000 - Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Working up here on the summit can lead to a sedentary lifestyle easily if you let it, especially in the winter time. In the summer months, it is easier to stay in shape with long daylight hours and more tranquil weather. Winter has challenges that are very physical so sometimes you can be forced into getting in shape just by having to be up here. Through the years that I have been here, I have struggled to try and set up a consistent