What is this Storm Going to Do? 2017-02-11 16:16:33.000 - Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   This has been a question us Observers have been trying to answer over the past couple of days. Usually when you see a storm this intense near Mount Washington it is 300 hours out in fantasy land on the computer models. (The reason it is called fantasy land is due to how crazy all the storms are from model error!) One thing that has not been a question is if we are going to see a lot of snow. The dynamics with this storm

Seek the Peak 2017 2017-02-09 14:08:11.000 - Mike Carmon, Senior Weather Observer & Education Specialist       With a Nor'easter currently dropping another round of significant snowfall on New Hampshire, it’s time to warm up our thoughts and think summer by looking ahead to Seek the Peak 2017! It's never too early to start talking Seek the Peak, and this year's event is shaping up to be another special and successful occasion for the Mount Washington Observatory. The annual Seek the Peak hike-a-thon is our largest annual fundraiser, and we're already gearing up for this two-day event set to

Living up to our Reputation! 2017-02-07 15:07:01.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   We’ve had a very active winter so far on the summit of Mount Washington, and that trend is definitely going to continue in the week ahead. With 193” of snow so far this season, we’re already over 3 feet above average for this point in the winter, with plenty more snow on the way. Low pressure will track through the St. Lawrence Valley overnight Tuesday and heading into Wednesday morning, with a warm front pushing moderate to heavy precipitation through New England. Snow today will change over

Ravens: Playful Tricksters of the Sky 2017-02-06 13:34:26.000 - Taylor Regan, Weather Observer   Few creatures make their permanent home upon the summit of Mount Washington. Even we observers only pull (roughly) one week stints up here, before heading down the rambling mountain road to our “week off” homes. We often say that Marty the cat rules the summit, being the only full-time resident of the Observatory, but in reality, had he no warm shelter, brimming with treats and near-continual head scratches, Marty would not reside up here either. The summit is remote and mysterious, shrouded by clouds nearly 70%

Mother Nature Rules the Rockpile 2017-02-05 11:35:26.000 - Nathan Flinchbaugh, Summit Intern   Wednesday morning my shift met at the base of the Auto Road just like any other typical shift change morning. A weak system was departing New Hampshire at the time and had left a few inches of additional snow in the valleys and notches surrounding the summit. With the potential of some upslope snow showers continuing through the day in the Whites, it was pretty clear that the snowcat trip would be a slow and cautious climb. We ended up making pretty good time to near treeline

A Volunteer Week 2017-02-01 06:23:56.000 - Jeff Swanson, Summit Volunteer   I have returned to the summit for my fourth trip as a volunteer with the Mount Washington Observatory. As usual, this place is never twice the same when drawing comparisons between each of my trips. I have experienced the month of July with sunny days, and opportunities to see many travelers on the summit and the Observatory. January (3 times) with its snow, ice formations, cold temperatures, and of course the extreme winds, which is my favorite season. This's week started with a Snowcat ride Wednesday that was fortunate

Something is up With the Number 127… 2017-01-30 06:01:15.000 - Caleb Meute, Weather Observer / Meteorologist   Prior to the past few days, the peak wind gust I experienced atop the Rockpile was 120 mph. Two nights ago in the hours leading up to midnight, the winds were strong, but they really failed to compare to the previous night when we hit 127 mph. Several guests and volunteers were sitting around the weather room well into the night waiting to see how high the winds would get, although we were not anticipating anything in comparison to the 127 mph gust

My First Few Days 2017-01-27 11:10:51.000 - Aryeh Cooperman, Summit Intern   I began my journey to Mount Washington Observatory on Wednesday morning. I had no idea the type of conditions I would experience at the summit. I arrived at the base where I was introduced to members of the summit team, as well as the transportation team. The snow cat ride took just under 4 hours to make it to the summit. The ride was fairly enjoyable with fun conversation and frequent stops to enjoy the scenery. When we arrived at the summit, I was in shock as to

My Week Among the Clouds 2017-01-25 10:24:39.000 - Evelyn Compton Padham, Summit Volunteer   I began my Mt Washington summit adventure last Tuesday before dawn in northwest NJ.   Traveling with my winter gear, my staple of fresh herbs for cooking and a few of my favorite comfort food recipes; I pondered what lay ahead during my 6.5 hour drive.   I imagined it would be a combination of an educational trip and an episode of Food Networks’ “Chopped”.   “Feed 17 for dinner with 1 freezer item, and 3 items from the pantry, you have 60 minutes and you

January Thaw: Statistical Event or Folklore? 2017-01-23 16:13:25.000 - Nathan Flinchbaugh, Summit Intern   A few short days ago, the summit of Mount Washington popped above the freezing mark for two straight days. January 20th, the first of these two, was a day in which sunshine soaked the Presidential Range and the highest wind gust for the day reached an extremely modest 37 mph. The observers compared it to a typical mid-May afternoon. While I was outside in the mild conditions, I couldn’t help but think about the so-called “January thaw,” a heavily used term to describe a brief period