Will it Snow? Will it Rain? 2016-11-27 14:25:59.000 - Adam Gill, Weather Observer/ IT Specialist   This upcoming week is looking very interesting weather wise. A big storm is going to be forming in the lee of the Rocky Mountains and form into a large storm in the upper Midwest. Right now, it looks like it is going to stall over the North Dakota and Minnesota border and bring a bunch of snow and wind to western ND and northwestern SD. This storm will help move a bunch of energy up from the Gulf of Mexico toward the North East.

Thanksgiving atop the Rockpile 2016-11-24 19:54:30.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   Working on the summit for Thanksgiving can be tough to be away from friends and family, but it helps to put things into perspective as to what I’m thankful for and makes me appreciate all the steps that led me to living and working atop this very special place. I’m very thankful for all the support and love over the years of my family, who have helped me pursue my career in meteorology and my passion for the weather. The Mount Washington Observatory just turned 84 years old

NASA GOES-R Satellite Launch and What This Means for Weather Forecasting 2016-11-22 11:25:14.000 - Ben Brownell, Summit Intern   You may have heard that National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully sent a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite into space this past Saturday. NASA provided excellent coverage of this launch with several Facebook live sessions. I highly suggest next time there is a launch that you check out their social media platforms for an inside peak into one of our nation’s best resources. Figure 1: GOES-R satellite launch  The satellite launched was called the GOES-R, which stands for Geostationary

What’s up with this Heat? 2016-11-20 12:36:52.000 - Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Both Friday and Saturday we set new record highs of 48 on Friday and then 49 on Saturday. The previous records for these dates were 46 on Friday (Set in 1958 and tied in 1994) and 45 on Saturday (Set in 1957 and tied in 1985). Both of these events we broke the previous records by multiple degrees which is an impressive margin, in fact Saturday broke the record by 4 degrees! Another interesting tidbit was that it was 48 degrees at midnight on Friday so

A 50-Degree Swing 2016-11-17 14:02:52.000 - Mike Carmon, Senior Weather Observer & Education Specialist   Fall 2016 continues to be a chaotic one in New England, and another abrupt change is on the way—perhaps one of the most extreme of the season yet! A strong ridge of high pressure centered over the southeastern United States will build into New England today through the weekend, bringing with it some extremely warm temperatures to the White Mountains region. Due to the very warm flow of air with this ridge, high temperatures on the summit of Mount Washington will be pushing 50°F tomorrow

So Close, Yet So Far Away 2016-11-15 17:40:53.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   We take safety very seriously up on the summit. While the nearest hospital is only about 15 miles as the raven flies, unlike the ravens that soar around the summit, we don’t have the ability to fly this distance to immediately to receive help. Given our weather up here, it is uncommon to even get a helicopter up here. So the reality of it is, if we or anyone gets injured and needs to be evacuated, we are either going to be carried down by

A Warm up on the Way, but First More 100 mph Winds? 2016-11-12 15:31:04.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   After seeing our first 100 mph winds of the month of November along with our coldest temperature of the fall at 4°F a big warm up is on tap over the next 48 hours. An expansive area of high pressure draped across much of the U.S with briefly give way to a passing system to our north tonight, with no expected precipitation but winds will once again top out near 100 mph on the summit, with warmer air surging in

Incoming Wind Event 2016-11-10 16:06:42.000 - Taylor Regan, Summit Intern   An incoming cold front will bring gusty winds and the lowest temperatures of the season thus far to the summit, beginning tonight and lingering through the weekend. Winds will be sustained above hurricane force for much of this time, with gusts approaching 100 mph. Why are we expecting such high winds with this event? One reason is the pressure gradient associated with the passage of the front. Looking at the map below, imagine that the gap between each set of lines represents a “step.” Furthermore, to get from an

An Internship on Mount Washington 2016-11-08 11:08:57.000 - Mike Carmon, Weather Observer & Education Specialist   One of our most exciting programs here at the Mount Washington Observatory is our summit internship program. Interns spend a season (fall, winter, or summer) working alongside summit observers, working their same week on/week off schedule, living and working on the summit of Mount Washington during their on-shift. It's an awesome opportunity to get real-world experience in the field of meteorology, and learn firsthand what it takes to operate a weather station in such a complex and harsh environment. Interns often move on to

De-Icing Instrumentation in 60 mph Winds 2016-11-06 06:12:37.000 - Caleb Meute, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   Check out this video of me de-icing in high winds yesterday:       Caleb Meute, Weather Observer/Meteorologist