Dreams Coming True 2018-05-27 18:35:46.000 - Zach Butler, Summit Intern   Good Afternoon! My name is Zach Butler and I am just beginning my summit internship this summer. I have been very eager for the last few weeks to finally get on the mountain. Finally, I am here after these weeks and even a decade of wanting to be up here. Yes, I have wanted to be an intern or work on Mount Washington for over a decade since I first became interested in meteorology at a young age. I just finished my meteorology major at the State University of

These Were A Few of My Favorite Things 2018-05-22 18:09:06.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   This past week I was asked: what has been my favorite experience with the Observatory? At the time I answered with my highest wind experienced. But when I started reflecting on it, I started second guessing myself and couldn’t narrow it down to any one experience. With a dozen or so years on the summit, I have had my fair share of great experiences up here. In fact, new experiences happen all the time up here and that is why I enjoy it

All About Data 2018-05-21 15:54:57.000 - Taylor Regan, Weather Observer   This past fall, the Mount Washington Observatory celebrated its 85th Anniversary, which, in terms of mountaintop weather stations, is kind of a big deal! And while the faces representing the Observatory have come and gone over the years, one thing that hasn’t changed is our efforts to collect and maintain a continuous series of weather observations, documenting the volatile weather conditions atop this storied mount. Figure 1. Mt. Washington Stage Office, Original Site of Mt. Washington Observatory On the summit proper, we collect a variety of data at each

My First Experiences on the Summit 2018-05-19 12:22:32.000 - Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern   Hello I’m Simon Wachholz, and I’m eager to begin my experience as one of the summer interns here at Mount Washington! I’m from Eastern Pennsylvania and I’m a rising senior at Penn State University majoring in Meteorology. Ever since I first visited Mount Washington in 2014, I’ve been dying to come back, and I’m so grateful to finally be returning as an intern. I have loved extreme weather for as long as I can remember, so there’s no place I’d rather work than at the home

My First Days on the Summit 2018-05-18 14:44:26.000 - Sarah Thunberg, Summit Intern   Sarah Thunberg reporting to you from Mount Washington! I was welcomed to the summit under sunny skies and a light breeze on Wednesday, much like my visits to the White Mountains growing up. The past few years I have spent most of my time studying atmospheric sciences in Illinois and little time in New Hampshire, so I am excited to be spending my summer back home experiencing the extreme weather conditions only seen while living on the summit. One of my side interests is astronomy so

Cursed to be Blessed 2018-05-15 12:48:06.000 - Ben Seleb, Summer Intern   Hearing that the previous shift had saw some especially exciting events, including aurora borealis and 130+ mph winds, I was extremely excited to start my first shift on the summit. However, when I arrived last Wednesday, I received a very warm welcome, with cotton candy clouds, sunny skies, and a comfortable breeze. This warm and clear weather has continued throughout most of my 8-day shift, giving me a misleading introduction to what living on the summit is typically like. Adam Gill, experienced meteorologist and observer, agrees that the

Big Bubble, No Trouble 2018-05-15 00:08:14.000 - Caleb Meute, Weather Observer / Meteorologist   Pleasant weather has plagued the summit this week with visibilities stretching beyond 100 miles, too much sunlight, not enough wind, and far too few trips to the precipitation can. While we are on the summit experiencing this awful stretch of perfect weather, a stalled frontal boundary south of the region has provided strong thunderstorms and frequent rain showers that have failed to make their way to us. The good news is that the Auto Road opened up and many visitors were able to make their way

A Dream Fulfilled 2018-05-11 11:50:05.000 - Jillian Reynolds, Summit Intern   “She believed she could, so she did.” – R.S. Grey, Scoring Wilder It has been a dream of mine to work on Mount Washington ever since I got a weather station tour back in the summer of 2011. Seeing all of the tools that are used up here to forecast weather, learning all about the extreme weather that can be seen up here, and meeting some of the observers made me realize that this is something that I want to do. Six years later, I was offered the Summer

Make Way for Summer 2018-05-08 14:58:14.000 - Taylor Regan, Weather Observer   Well, it’s that time of year again, spring! For weeks it was elusive, even as we closed out April as the 7th snowiest on record, with an average temperature 4.9 degrees below normal (9th coldest on record), we had all but written it off. But then, May arrived, and with it temperatures soared well above average, providing a significant melt-out of the snows of April (and of the rest of winter). Slowly, the sedge grasses worked their way free of most of the lingering ice patches, eagerly seeking

When One Door Closes... 2018-05-07 11:34:54.000 - Sarah Schulte, Summit Intern   When One Door Closes… …then, well, you can’t get through that door. You’ve tried, but the lock is bolted, and you don’t know the secret knock, and I think Marty might have stolen the key. Luckily, there happens to be a convenient second door to your right that’ll take you to basically the same place, so what was the point of locking the other - My metaphor is breaking down, and so, coincidentally, is my internship. This is my last week on the summit as a weather observer