A Hike to End All Hikes 2018-08-02 09:46:08.000 - Ben Seleb, Summit Intern   Despite living on the summit for most of the summer, my busy schedule has kept me from hiking Mount Washington from base to summit. With my internship at the Observatory coming to an end, and not having made the climb in its entirety, I made sure to find the time for it this previous weekend. Observer Adam Gill kindly joined me for the ceremonious occasion. Due to the threat of thunderstorms later in the afternoon, we decided on a shorter (but tough) loop up Ammonoosuc Ravine

The never-ending Cloud 2018-08-01 16:16:43.000 - Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern   The last observer comment discussed why Mount Washington has such strong winds. This post, on the other hand, will discuss why we’re so often in the clouds. I’m sure many of you who have visited the summit in the past have had similar experiences: you’re at the base of the mountain and it’s a beautiful, sunny day, but then you get up to the summit and suddenly its cloudy with a visibility of 50 feet. Oftentimes it seems like the summits are the only cloud in the Northeast, so

World’s Worst Weather, Why? 2018-07-28 16:18:03.000 - Sarah Thunberg, Summit Intern   Mount Washington holds the title of “Home of the world’s worst weather” and holds the record for highest wind speed observed by man. At 6,288 ft. high, Mount Washington is not the tallest mountain in the world, it doesn’t even compare to many of the Rockies. So why does it have the worst weather in the world? Worst is a subjective term, it could mean high winds, heavy rain, lightning, or flying chunks of ice and debris. With regards to winds, Mount Washington has a clear leg above

Shift-Change Surprise 2018-07-26 18:06:54.000 - Griffin Mooers, Summit Intern   On our drive up to begin the new week’s shift, we came across something unexpected part of the way up the Mount Washington Auto Road. Though the summit of Mount Washington was socked in the clouds, in the mountains just below there was a gorgeous rainbow that had just formed. It was by far the most well defined double rainbow I’ve ever seen in my life. Our timing could not have been more perfect, as the rainbow faded only a few minutes after we stopped to admire it.   Rainbow

Jasper, the Forgotten Cat 2018-07-23 15:31:32.000 - Emily Tunkel, Summer Intern   If you’re reading this blog post, you probably know about Mount Washington’s resident mascot, Marty the cat. Maybe if you really follow us closely (or you’re a little older), you know of Nin, a fat white cat who retired from MWO in 2008. And you’ve probably seen photos of Inga sitting outside in a storm, covered in rime ice. But what about Jasper? Recently, the other interns and I were tasked with combing through some of the old MWO news bulletins, all the way back to 1962. As

Seek the Peak 2018!! 2018-07-22 11:32:14.000 - Ian Bailey, Weather Observer/Education Specialist      Time for another blog post! Our Seek the Peak event was amazing! Over the last several years during the event, the weather has been, well, questionable. High winds, foggy views, and even precipitation played into what some have called a “more rough than anticipated” hiking experience. But not this year. Not at all. We had a very strong high pressure settled in over the region, with plenty of dry air and light winds to help set up a clear, blue, beautiful day for Seek the Peak.    We

One Cloud to Cover Them All 2018-07-17 07:11:23.000 - Sarah Thunberg, Summit Intern   Every meteorologist has a favorite cloud type, for most people this has something to do with severe weather. I get it, supercells are really cool and exciting and give conditions where you can see really unique clouds like pileus or mammatus. These clouds are too rare and energetic for me. Give me a nice stratus deck any day and I’ll be happy, better yet, layered decks. There’s just something so comforting and peaceful about a smooth ocean of white. A stratus day is a good day.

Where is the Wind this Week? 2018-07-15 18:09:32.000 - Griffin Mooers, Summit Intern   The Mount Washington Observatory’s claim to fame has long centered on wind, with the observatory seeing the highest wind gust ever (recorded by man) at 231 mph on April 12th, 1934. And at an average annual wind speed of 35 mph, the observatory has the highest average wind of any station in North America. And it’s personally given me by far the strongest wind’s I’ve experience in my life, with gust’s over 90 miles an hour on previous shifts. But so far this shift, the mountain

Mount Washington Sunsets 2018-07-14 18:19:23.000 - Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern   When I woke up 5am Wednesday morning for shift change, my first thought was that I couldn’t wait until my next off week so I could finally sleep in. Once I got back to the top, however, I quickly forgot why I would ever want to leave. The cool air is an amazing reprieve from the summer heat in the valleys and the views of the surrounding towns, forests and mountains are unmatched. Whenever I’m up here, my favorite part of the day is without a doubt sunset. As

'Tis but a Patch! 2018-07-11 07:34:50.000 - Ben Seleb, Summit Intern   Living on a mountain has its ups and downs (literally), and Mt. Washington is no exception to that. Acclimated to our unique and isolated workplace, we often find ourselves captivated by things that other people would think odd. For instance, when we aren’t in the clouds, we have our fair share of spectacular sunrises and sunsets. So many in fact, that after a while they also become commonplace. While we still go out to the observation deck to watch them, we have begun to judge their magnificence more