'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

Special Relativity and Mount Washington 2018-07-09 15:42:43.000 - Emily Tunkel, Summer Intern   Freshman year, second semester, I took a course called “Introduction to Relativity and Quantum Mechanics” in which we discussed an experiment performed by David Frisch and James Smith in 1963. Frisch and Smith were looking to measure the effect of time dilation on mu-meson particles. Time dilation, an effect of special relativity, basically describes what happens if you throw a clock fast enough: It will start to run slow. The factor of this time change is generally pretty small because it relates the object’s velocity to the

Back In The Swing Of Things 2018-07-09 06:38:26.000 - Christopher Hohman, Night Observer   Hi there! My name is Christopher Hohman, and I am the new Night Observer here on the summit of Mount Washington. Some of you may remember me a few years ago as in intern. I thought I’d spend this blog talking about what I’ve done over the past two years, and what it’s been like coming back to the best place on Earth. My internship at the Mount Washington Observatory was one of the best experiences I ever had in my life. I had left the

A Spectacular 4th from the Summit 2018-07-05 07:58:50.000 - Zach Butler, Summit Intern   Being atop Mt. Washington for the 4th of July with clear conditions was an incredible sight. As the sun set, we began to see the first fireworks light off. Small towns and houses began this small show. As the sky became darker, North Conway and Brenton Woods took over the show. Trying to see both sights was quite difficult actually. Running from the observation deck to the south east side of the mountain soon became a workout as I tried to get the best pictures of

A Crash Course in Cyclogenesis and Conveyor Belt Theory 2018-07-02 18:18:05.000 - Sarah Thunberg, Summit Intern   Standing at the base of the mountain Wednesday morning, I was jumping with energy and excitement to get back on the summit this week. It doesn’t take much to get me excited in the first place, but this week was looking promising for storms. The storm that passed Thursday and Friday followed the classic mid-latitude cyclone lifecycle. This particular cyclone was already weakening as it hit New England so we only received a lot of rain and small cells scattered across New Hampshire.

A Year's Worth of Snow In Review 2018-07-01 16:35:30.000 - Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern   At Mount Washington (and other weather sites) the conclusion of June marks the end of our yearly weather season. This is to encompass a complete winter, instead of splitting the winter up at the end of the calendar year. This means that yesterday was the end of the 2017-2018 snow season, and that starting today any snow (or sleet or hail) will count towards the 2018-19 winter season. Rapidly changing weather is something you should expect at the summit of Mount Washington, and this past

Hot, Humid, and Hazy 2018-06-30 16:40:13.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   With the upcoming weather pattern, there are a two noteworthy things to talk about.   The first is the various Heat Advisories in place from neighboring NWS offices. While the higher peaks will be cooler, summits will still be hot/humid and trailheads and several lower elevations fall under the heat advisory criteria.  With the Heat Advisories in place, some notes to keep in mind for the weekend and beyond: Pack extra fluids than you normally would carry, hydrate frequently, and encouraging everyone in your party to hydrate.

Another Day at the Office 2018-06-26 16:31:19.000 - Zach Butler, Summit Intern   Starring out the office window for motivation of a blog post is never that hard. The beautiful northern view of our presidential range is always an eyesight to amaze and daydream amount. How far can I make it on a hike today? What kind of flowers have emerged today and this week? These are just some of the thoughts I daydream about as I look to the north and west. I’m really not sure if there is a better office view possible. The daydreams and wonder about

An Unlikely Destination 2018-06-24 16:45:38.000 - Ben Seleb, Summit Intern   If you read the most recent blog by observer Ian Bailey, you may have noticed the part where he explained our annual hike-a-thon Seek the Peak, and shamelessly promoted our own team, Team Vergalicious. Just kidding, of course you noticed! Don’t worry! This isn’t another shameless plug.  You may have actually noticed the part where Ian mentioned that my favorite part of working here is the contrast between Observatory and its surrounding environment. I figured the “contrast” I’m talking about here could use some additional clarification, which I will attempt

New Team, Same Dream! 2018-06-23 11:42:12.000 - Ian Bailey, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   As we enter the final days of June, our shift is looking forward to the big event next month! Seek the Peak 2018 will be happening on July 20th and 21rst, and is gearing up to be another amazing hike-a-thon! Our crew, comprised of our Shift Leader Adam Gill, Education Specialist Ian Bailey, Night Observer Chris Hohman, and our Interns Zach Butler, Emily Tunkel, and Ben Seleb, have come together to create a new team to conquer the climb this July. Team Virgalicious is raising money for