Spring Hike 2016-03-21 22:18:05.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   The first day of spring was a nice one for the summit of Mount Washington and the neighboring summits in the White Mountains. The day started out sunny and remained generally sunny through the day despite some high clouds spreading in from the south late in the day. While temperatures remained on the cool side, low winds and the ample sunshine helped make it a tolerable day to be out and about without a face mask and full on winter gear for a change. With the pleasant spring weather

Longer Days Ahead 2016-03-19 20:48:44.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   With the first day of spring coming up (tomorrow!), I decided to get a bit excited about the warm temperatures we’ll see on the summit mid-summer. While it may not seem that warm to valley-dwellers, our record warm temperature recorded on the summit is a balmy 72F degrees (which was recorded twice in our history). In celebration of the coming warmth, I’ve put together some numbers from the summit. The graph below shows average temperature and relative humidity compared to wind direction from our digital sensors since 2005.

Winter Returns! 2016-03-16 17:57:07.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   Although we’ve seen a very mild winter and little in the way of any deep snowpack in place across the White Mountains, a return to more winter like conditions is likely over the next 7 days. After picking up 1.6” of snow and plenty of glaze ice over the past 48 hours the road up had a little bit more of a wintry feel than our down going trip last week. With an occluded front quickly approaching from the eastern Great Lakes this evening, the summit is expecting a quick

Shoulder Seasons 2016-03-11 17:31:30.000 - Mike Wessler, Summit Intern   With the warm temperatures we’ve been enjoying here at the summit, and the 50’s and 60’s down in the valley and across the state, it’s easy to find myself settled into a springtime state of mind. Walking around the Mt Washington Auto Road parking lot the morning of this week’s shift change and feeling my feet sink ankle deep in the mud was an unusual feeling for early March, but not completely foreign. As an avid backcountry skier, this left me wondering how things were doing up high.  In the shoulder

Two Years and a Ton of Memories 2016-03-08 15:55:35.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Co-Director of Summit Operations   What an awesome journey it has been. My first exposure to Mount Washington was a summer internship in 2013. The mountain quickly put me in my place by offering an initiation of snow, plenty of rime ice, and gusts up to 120 mph for my very first shift. It was not long before I learned that balaclava, microspikes, and goggles were critical in this new environment. That summer was the experience of a lifetime. I was fresh out of college and eager to

Warmer Times Ahead! 2016-03-05 11:57:42.000 - Andrew Henry, Summit Intern   After the recent snow and cold weather to start the month, some of you may be asking when warmer weather will return to the White Mountains. The recent Arctic blast has been pretty impressive on the summit! This shift started out with snow and temperatures on the mild side, topping out in the upper 20’s Wednesday morning.   That quickly changed as a strong cold front traversed the region through the day Wednesday. Arctic air filtering in behind the front allowed temperatures to fall to around 10 below by Wednesday evening and temperatures

Meteorological Spring has Sprung! 2016-03-03 06:21:53.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   Spring has sprung…well, sort of. When talking about spring, most out there are talking about the day that reads “FIRST DAY OF SPRING” on the calendar. This date refers to the astronomical season, which is based on Earth’s tilt on its axis as it is orbiting around the sun. Therefore, the seasons of spring and fall would land on the equinoxes (when day and night are roughly of equal length) and summer and winter would land on solstices (when day/night are of their greatest lengths, longest day

A New Look to My Shift 2016-02-29 17:23:56.000 - Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations   There's been a lot of change on the summit in recent weeks, which has essentially transformed my shift into a completely new look. Adam Gill, who started as a fall intern on my shift back in August of 2015, and was then promoted to temporary observer upon the departure of Michael Kyle in November, has come on board full-time as the new night observer on this shift! You’ll hear Adam's voice in the mornings on visitor information radio, NHPR, and you’ll see his excellent

A Volunteer's Week 2016-02-27 09:21:16.000 - Laura Dorfman, Summit Volunteer   This was a very exciting week for me. I have volunteered at the top of Mount Washington twice before in the summer. But this week I volunteered in the winter, which is a very different experience. I got to cook dinner for the crew (and celebrate two birthdays). My fellow volunteer Carol and I met and cooked for two groups of people visiting for the day, and for a group of hikers staying overnight. It is fun to meet all the visitors and hear their stories. A highlight for

Hey there! 2016-02-23 17:28:07.000 - Marty the Cat, Director of Feline Operations   It sure has been awhile since I shared my thoughts here last. I’ve been pretty busy this winter helping out the observers with lots of weather observations. I also enjoy making an appearance around dinner time and entertaining the overnight guests. All of them are so happy to see me and I make new friends with each trip.   I’m really looking forward to the warmer months that lie ahead so I can have a chance to run around outside and frolic among the rocks. I’m also