Seasonal Changes On The Summit 2015-11-10 17:35:13.000 - Andrew Henry, Summit Intern   As the seasons change on the summit, so do the number of visitors and staff. During the summer months, thousands of people visit the summit of Mount Washington via the Mount Washington Auto Road, the Mount Washington Cog Railway, and various hiking trails that lead to the summit. Many of these visitors stop in the Extreme Mount Washington Museum to learn about Mount Washington Observatory’s history. Members of the observatory frequently sign up for tours of the observatory weather station during the summer months. To accommodate for this

#MWOMetMonday 2015-11-09 21:08:18.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Co-Director of Summit Operations   #MWOMetMonday When it's warmer at the summit than at lake level (Winnipesaukee ~500') what does that indicate?— Anthony Monaco (@FrankMonaco13) November 9, 2015   We received a great question from one of our fans for today’s #MWOMetMonday!   Sometimes under certain atmospheric conditions, we actually report a warmer temperature on the summit than the valley. Why does that happen?   That seems a little odd, considering that the relationship between temperature and pressure is directly proportional. (Yikes! What does that even mean?)   Let’s take a closer look at

What I am Thankful For... 2015-11-06 15:37:28.000 - Michael Kyle, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   With Thanksgiving only being a few weeks away, our Financial/Administrative Assistant, Mary Anne, challenged the rest of the staff to write one thing per day that we are thankful for until Thanksgiving Day. Since I am leaving the Observatory in a few days to pursue another job opportunity, I decided to take on Mary Anne’s challenge and create my list of 26 things I am thankful for, here and now. I am thankful for… The days I have spent working and living on the summit at

Feeling the Force of Mount Washington's Winds 2015-11-04 21:01:51.000 - Adam Gill, Summit Intern   The beginning of this shift was exciting wind wise up on the summit. Shortly after arriving on Oct. 24th for shift change, a warm front approached us from the south and caused some snow to start falling. By the late afternoon, the snow had switched to freezing rain and was accumulating fast. Wind speeds also ramped up to being sustained over 70 mph. After dinner, all the people on the summit went outside with a sled to be blown across the ice covered deck just

Halloween from the Summit 2015-10-31 17:11:28.000 - Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations   Happy Halloween from the summit!   It’s hard to believe how dramatically the weather changed from yesterday to today--it's almost as if Mount Washington has dressed itself in a costume of sunshine, calm winds, and warm temperatures for Halloween 2015! After winds in excess of 100 mph on Friday, with gusts as high as 123 mph, conditions took a big turn today. The more placid weather conditions allowed us to get out and enjoy the sunshine!   One of our "friends" that we met last Halloween

Thoughts From Dennis 2015-10-29 12:55:06.000 - Dennis Vienneau, Summit Museum Attendant   Another shift nears its end as I compose this comment. I have been a member of the Observatory for many years and have worn many hats during that tenure: teacher extern, summit volunteer, museum docent and most recently as the museum attendant. Each role has offered many rewarding experiences, from "crunching" achieved cloud altitude data for a UNH research scientist, to learning how to cook and bake successfully at altitude, to interacting with many of the Observatory's fans and weather fanatics. Most of my time on the summit

#MWOMETMONDAY on a Tuesday! 2015-10-27 19:37:13.000 - Andrew Henry, Summit Intern   We had a great question referring back to my last blog which was about snowfall statistics on the summit.   This week, Joshua asked if there is a correlation between strong El Niño years and the amount of snow seen on the summit.      Before going into depth about the correlation between El Niño and snowfall at Mount Washington Observatory, it is important to understand what El Niño is. El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, commonly referred to as ENSO. It

Hurricane Patricia 2015-10-25 18:04:15.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   When our shift came up on Wednesday (October 21st), then Tropical Storm Patricia was just starting to take shape in the waters west of Guatemala. By the time I went to bed the morning of the 22nd, TS Patricia was upgraded to a Category 2 Hurricane (sustained winds of 96-110mph or 154-177km/h). By the time I woke up in the afternoon, Hurricane Patricia intensified to a Category 4 (sustained winds of 130-156mph or 209-251km/h). During my night shift spanning October 22nd/23rd, I watched Hurricane Patricia intensify even further to

Science, Weather and Ice 2015-10-23 19:31:58.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   We’ve had quite a temperature swing in the last 24 hours! We went from close to the 40 degree mark to 14 degrees in less than 12 hours! Yesterday I was comfortable in a light summer jacket, but I was forced to put on my thick powerstretch Eastern Mountain Sports long underwear (I call it my blubber). The wintry weather made for some of the most significant rime ice growth so far this winter for my shift. The rime ice made really interesting patterns on our observation

Tuesday's Winds 2015-10-21 23:04:52.000 - Michael Kyle, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   As you can tell from the last few comments, winter conditions have reappeared on the summit of Mount Washington. While it is great seeing the snow and rime covering the summit again, the winds over the weekend were a slight let down for me. Though most people rarely see winds on the same scale as a CAT 1 hurricane, they are common here on Mount Washington, especially during the winter. Luckily, the weekend’s let down was made up for on Tuesday, when 90+ MPH gusts rocked the summit.