The Best Summer on the Summit 2016-07-30 17:18:45.000 - Emily Schuitema, Summit Intern   It’s almost August, and my last week as an intern at Mount Washington Observatory has arrived! I have no idea how the summer went by so fast, and I can’t believe my time here is coming to an end.   I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I accepted the offer to be an intern here in March. All I knew was that I was going to be living on top of a mountain in close quarters with a bunch of people

The Weatherman’s Curse 2016-07-29 15:40:24.000 - Claudia Pukropski, Summit Intern   It’s often believed that clouds are a Chinese symbol of good luck. Due to their beauty and change in color and shape, it’s thought that they spark people’s imaginations, leading to happiness and good fortune. Here on the summit of Mount Washington, we are lucky enough to work, live and sleep among the clouds. So one would think we would be sated with good luck. But quite the contrary is true. Among the meteorology world, there is something known as the weatherman’s curse, also referred to as a weather

A Picture Perfect Week on the Summit 2016-07-26 13:09:11.000 - Deb and Kurt Markarian, Summit Volunteers   Our story for volunteering began nearly 4 years ago when my wife Deb purchased our membership as a present to our daughter Victoria and I. Along with the membership was a trip for Victoria and I for a winter day trip. I was hooked at that point.     Now we skip forward to our actual adventure as volunteers at the Observatory. We started our Wednesday by feeding 17+ people for lunch! We settled in quickly with the crew as they were all friendly

Our Little Library 2016-07-25 18:09:01.000 - Meredith Campbell, Summit Intern   Here at the Mount Washington Observatory, we are lucky to have a plethora of reading material. Over our eighty year history books brought by the observers, interns, and volunteers along with generous donations from our members have accumulated to provide a wealth of knowledge in the form of our own little library. Because we work such long days here, I don’t have a lot of free time to read, but I do love to look through our bookshelves to see what I can find.    As you can imagine

Picture Perfecting 2016-07-24 18:22:20.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   If you’ve ever visited the White Mountains, you know how beautiful and photogenic they are. I decided to check out some of the other images that others have captured, so I checked out the tag #WhiteMountains on Instagram today and found several pictures from the past day, week, month and beyond. Several of them I liked (literally, I gave them a double-tap), however, there were a few that raised an eyebrow; and I am not the only one to notice some questionable photographs as several photographers I follow have

Last Night’s Thunderstorms & an Explanation of Lenticular Clouds 2016-07-23 12:20:47.000 - Tim Greene, Summit Intern                   We often see lenticular clouds at the Observatory, but yesterday evening we got to see a less common variety; a convective altocumulus lenticularis (try saying that ten times fast). Prior to the onset of a thunderstorm band that rolled over the summit last night, there was a spectacular 360 degree view of convective cloud formations. Unsurprisingly, the sky was dominated by cumulus towers bubbling up, the most impressive of which were located over southern Quebec. Bear in mind that if we are experiencing 60 statute

Where does the weather come from? 2016-07-21 17:40:37.000 - Christopher Hohman, Summer Intern   When we’re in grade school we all learn about the beautifully simple water cycle as the explanation to every storm forming over us. This model for weather isn’t incorrect by any means, but you’d be surprised how much more there is to the whole process. On a daily basis the atmosphere moves like a fluid on not just small local scale, but continental and even global. This is one of the most core ideals of meteorology, and after staring at pressure charts for long enough and

A Turbulent Weather Day 2016-07-19 14:15:45.000 - Mike Carmon, Senior Weather Observer & Education Specialist   Yesterday, we were all thrilled with the prospect of severe weather in northern New Hampshire. All signs pointed to an eventful afternoon for most of New Hampshire and Maine, with the summit of Mt. Washington smack in the middle of the action.  Yesterday's severe weather risk from the Storm Prediction Center Forecasted values of CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy) were exceptionally high (by New England standards), signifying a good deal of instability in the air. That's ingredient number one. Due to the income of

Seek the Peak 2016-07-18 10:08:09.000 - Emily Schuitema, Summit Intern   Very shortly after moving out to the White Mountains region for the summer, I discovered that one of the best parts of living here is the hiking. Driving down any given mountain road you pass dozens of trailheads, which will lead you to waterfalls or ravines or all the way to the top of a mountain. There's nothing as peaceful as taking a long walk through the mountains, and there's nothing as rewarding as the view once you reach the top. Yesterday at Mount Washington Observatory was Seek the

Convection 2016-07-13 16:26:28.000 - Andrea LaRocca, Summit Intern   It's the start to another great week here on Mount Washington. To start the week off with a bang, we have the potential for some thunderstorms this evening. With plenty of sunshine still peeking through, we're crossing our fingers for a good one today. With the likelihood of us being in and out of the clouds for the next couple of days and rain showers possible, the welcome sight of severe weather is always one we will take. As clouds form during the day, a consequence of day time heating, small