The North Atlantic Oscillation 2017-10-16 17:43:15.000 - Taylor Regan, Weather Observer   Last night, during our live forecast discussion on Facebook, we were asked a question about the North Atlantic Oscillation, or NAO. So, what is the NAO, and why is relevant to our weather discussion? To understand the NAO we need to first take a look at the atmosphere, particularly over the North Atlantic Ocean. Here, an area of permanent low pressure sits over Iceland (known as the Icelandic Low or Subpolar Low), and an area of high pressure sits over the Azores (known as the Azores High or

Founding Day 2017-10-15 16:12:32.000 - Mount Washington Observatory Staff, Weather Observer   It’s founding day! What does that mean? Well, it is the day that we at the Mount Washington Observatory celebrate the beginning (founding) of our organization. And this year, it’s a big one! Today we celebrate 85 years up on the summit! While scientists embarked for a summit expedition in the 1870s, and the Signal Corps maintained a presence on the summit through 1892, it wasn’t until 1932 that Bob Monahan, Sal Pagliuca, Alex MacKenzie, and Joe Dodge set up a permanent presence on the summit. Using funds

The Story of the Seasons 2017-10-14 11:59:36.000 - Taylor Regan, Weather Observer   It’s been a fall-like summer and a summer-like fall this year, with the trees all out of sorts and calendars themselves questioning what month it really is. But how did the seasons become as delineated at they are? In Greek Mythology, the story of the seasons originates with Demeter, the Greek goddess of harvest. According to the myth, Demeter, the goddess responsible for ensuring the harvest, had a young and joyful daughter named Persephone. Unfortunately, Persephone drew the attention of Hades, ruler of the underworld. Zeus granted

Misery Hill: A Look Back at the Saturday Evening Post March 14th, 1942 2017-10-12 06:43:50.000 - Taylor Regan, Weather Observer   Up on the summit, we have the tremendous fortune of a well-preserved archive of not only our hourly weather observations but also various journals and missives from those observers and visitors who have spent time up here all throughout the Observatory’s 85 year history. It makes the frequent foggy evenings the perfect time to turn through the pages of history and read about what life was like in the years previous up on the summit! In the early years

Hot in Here 2017-10-10 21:03:09.000 - Caleb Meute, Weather Observer / Meteorologist   Thanks to a strong and stubborn upper level ridge that anchored itself over the northeastern United States this shift, well above seasonable air has continued to stream into the White Mountains Region. Generally, at this time of the year my winter gear comes up to the summit with me as we begin to battle the snow and ice but so far that has not been the case. At the beginning of our last shift, I wrote a blog discussing the anticipated heat wave which would likely break

We are Live! 2017-10-07 17:22:12.000 - Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Over the past year or so, we have been periodically doing facebook lives to test it out and see how feasible it would be to do. Originally we were just able to do the facebook live broadcast from the weather room because that was the only place we had Wi-Fi. We then were able to use a spare router and put it up in our tower so that the deck could get coverage. We did a few Q and A’s from the deck on nice weather days. The

And So the Fun Began 2017-10-05 19:34:06.000 - Nicole Tallman, Summit Intern   Have you ever wondered what it is like to be on top of Mount Washington in high winds? It feels like a strong man pushing against you and fighting your ability to walk forward. And just as you think you've gotten enough strength to push through it, the winds drop and you fly forward. Seconds later they pick back up and send your momentum backward. You catch your balance and continue to read into where you think the winds will blow you next, swaying in their force

I Can See The Light! 2017-10-03 16:47:53.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   As the About Us page on our website states, “Mount Washington Observatory is a private, nonprofit, member-supported institution with a mission to advance understanding of the natural systems that create Earth’s weather and climate. It serves this mission by maintaining a weather station on the summit of Mount Washington, performing weather and climate research, conducting innovative science education programs, and interpreting the heritage of the Mount Washington region.” And as a meteorologist (the study of weather), the Observatory is a great place to experience Earth’s weather

Things To Know Before You Go 2017-10-01 05:56:54.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   This week we went from warm and muggy summer-like weather to cold and snowy winter-like weather. During the times we weren’t in summer/winter mode, looking down into the valleys below provided all the indicators of Fall (foliage) developing all around us. With the looks of Fall and today's winter-like weather, it is a great time to take a minute and point out a few things that come with the changing seasons. Some changes are already in effect and others will be coming in the following

Cooking at Altitude: It's a Piece of Cake! 2017-09-28 14:33:21.000 - Taylor Regan, Weather Observer   Working at a fully manned mountaintop weather station definitely has its challenges…did you know that one of them is cooking? Located at 6,288 feet above sea level, the Mount Washington Observatory is well above the “high altitude” threshold, which most cookbooks consider to be 3,000-3,500 feet. You’ve probably seen “high-altitude” baking instructions on the back of some ready-made mixes, but why exactly do ingredient amounts and baking times change? I’m so glad you asked! As someone who enjoys cooking, I was intrigued by not