January Melt Out and an Impressively Windy Start to Winter 2019-01-24 13:20:44.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist     Melting snow and rime ice beneath our A-frame leading to the observation deck    We’re seeing the infamous “January thaw” here on the summit today as temperatures have risen above freezing for the first time in 2019. Rain is currently falling on the summit, combined with fog to lead to very wet and unpleasant conditions outside. Our snowpack is condensing and melting quickly this morning, falling from 10 inches to 7 as of noon today. Temperatures are expected to rise

Thank You All For My Time Here 2019-01-23 05:01:53.000 - Christopher Hohman, Night Observer/Staff Meteorologist   They say time flies when you’re having fun. To say that my time here has gone by quick, is quite frankly an understatement. The joy that this job has given me every night really cannot be put into words. The countless starry nights, all the storms (both summer and winter alike), and the fastest winds I’ll ever experience in my life. It all has meant the world to me. Above all of that thought, there’s really one part of this job that will carry

First Week at the Observatory 2019-01-20 09:45:18.000 - Jay Broccolo, Summit Intern   Hello and cheers from the summit of Mount Washington! My name is Jay Broccolo (check out my bio in the Staff section if you would like to know more about me) and this is my first communication with you all from here in the Observer Comments. This is also my first shift week as a Summit Intern at the observatory so I would like to take this opportunity to share my experience so far with all of you wonderful readers and enthusiasts. The shift week started Wednesday morning

Update on this weekend's Winter Storm! 2019-01-17 17:33:43.000 - Ian Bailey, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   On Tuesday, Observer Tom Padham wrote about the potential for an impressive winter storm for the Northeast this weekend. Like he said in his blog, we have been following the evolution of the storm so far, as well as what different weather models are indicating for the weekend ahead. Now that we are inside an appropriate 72-hour forecast window, I’d like to update you on how both the atmosphere and the storm of interest have progressed since the last post, and start to give a

Potential Weekend Storm 2019-01-15 13:12:38.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   A significant storm for the upcoming weekend has now been consistently in the models over the past several days, and it could be an impressive storm for much of New Hampshire and New England. I thought it would be good take a look at the current models and see the things that are closer to a certainty, and also those that are more “up in the air” for this weekend. First off, let’s back up a little bit and see how the weather is looking ahead of this

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!