Wintry Weather Ahead! 2016-02-06 00:35:31.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   It’s been a warm but also stormy start to the month of February across the high peaks of New England, with three out of the first four days of the month seeing above freezing temperatures. We also saw winds gust up to 125 mph on the 1st, with sustained wind speeds of over 100 mph for over an hour. Wednesday was an especially interesting weather scenario for Mount Washington, with a strong warm front causing temperatures to surge to near-record territory in the mid-30s overnight after starting out only

My Volunteer Trip #3 2016-02-04 16:06:23.000 - Jeff Swanson, Summit Volunteer   As I look back on my third week on the summit, by comparison to my previous visits, it has been a mild week. We did manage to get a peak gust of 125 mph Monday, and the rime ice formations and clouds on the horizon are always spectacular. The opportunity to make it to the century club was close at hand, but safety precautions had to be respected on this occasion. Last year I was with the team when the winter storm went through that caused the Boston

A Taste of Spring 2016-02-01 13:23:49.000 - Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations   This El Niño-influenced winter we're currently in the midst of continues to throw a plethora of monkey wrenches and curveballs our way. The seemingly constant oscillation of warm-up to cool-down has been quite intriguing to witness from the perspective of the Northeast's highest peak. No matter how many cold and snowy days are thrown at us, we continue to harbor that feeling that it won’t last long, and another warm-up is not far down the road. After a fairly-average shift with respect to temperature, last night

Back to the Rockpile 2016-01-31 07:01:27.000 - Michael Wessler, Summit Intern   After a brief stint at the Observatory last year as an intern working on research, it feels great to be back here for the remainder of the winter. After Mount Washington doled out a round of it’s characteristic brand of extreme weather when I was here last, with temperatures of 34 below, and a gust up to 127 mph, I was hooked and found myself counting the days until I could experience the same again. As a student passionate about mountain weather, there’s no better way to get

Extended sojourns to Mt. Washington keep us captive to the charms of the Rockpile 2016-01-28 12:29:24.000 - Will Broussard, Education Coordinator   In late May of 2012 I spent a week at the summit, getting a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the Mount Washington Observatory. I learned as much as I could about the mountaintop weather station, its staff of observers, and their daily work in one of the world’s most extreme environments. I witnessed two direct lightning strikes to the radio antennas in addition to a magnificent sunrise over the coast. Scarcely a month into my new

A Busy Shift on the Summit 2016-01-26 17:29:32.000 - Tim Taber, Digital Content Coordinator   I've spent the past shift on the summit with Observers Kaitlyn, Mike, and Ryan, volunteers Bruce and Ayla, and quite a few guests. Being my first full shift on the summit I'm actually a bit surprised it is already Tuesday. There was a lot of activity that helped to pass the time quickly, including a group from Eastern Mountain Sports on Friday night, an EduTrip Saturday night, and a Day Trip on Monday. Mike Dorfman and I spent some time yesterday removing a layer of

Brocken Spectre: An Interesting Phenomenon 2016-01-25 12:47:55.000 - Andrew Henry, Summit Intern   A Brocken spectre, sometimes referred to as a Brocken bow or mountain spectre, formed a few shifts back. It was an interesting weather phenomenon I had never seen before. Since the occurrence of the Brocken spectre I have looked into what they are and what conditions cause them to form.   A Brocken spectre is the enormous magnified shadow of an observer cast onto the upper surfaces of clouds opposite the sun. The shadow often appears as a ghostly figure surrounded by halo-like rings of colored light

An Incredible Experience 2016-01-23 16:21:36.000 - Kyle Clauss, Digital News Writer, Boston Magazine      I don’t think I’ve ever met a group of people prouder of the awful weather they endure for eight days at a time than the folks who live and work in the Mt. Washington Observatory. But as relentless as the winds are, and as troublesome the ubiquitous rime ice is for their instruments, the weather yields some of the most breathtaking views of New England, New York, and, albeit faintly, Canada.   A snowcat whisks you—“whisk” might be too strong a word for a 60,000

An Unforgettable Experience 2016-01-19 17:10:22.000 - Sam Webber, Summit Intern   Finally back for the second week of my internship here at the summit observatory, and what an incredible way to start the week off! With forecasts predicting sustained wind speeds of 100 mph and gusts well over that, I think it's safe to say that I'm finally starting to see some of the conditions I have been waiting for! Nothing really gets your blood pumping quite like walking out onto the observatory deck and experiencing some of the most intense weather in the world. However, it was unusually calm

A Near Miss 2016-01-16 14:36:42.000 - Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations   The coastal storm system currently producing snowfall across northern New England has failed to live up to some of the higher expectations, primarily across most of the state of NH. It's a situation that's all too common for the northeastern United States—a coastal system develops over the mid-Atlantic and rides northward along the eastern seaboard. "Will the storm produce 1-2 feet of snow? Or just a dusting?" "Computer models are not in full agreement." "Your guess is as good as mine." Hearing these phrases dropped by a