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.  

This Weeks #MWOMetMonday 2015-10-19 18:33:57.000 - Adam Gill, Summit Intern   This week we had a decent amount of questions! It was hard to choose just two questions to answer.   This is the first question from Nancy. During November, we have just 3 full time observers and an intern on each shift, since November is a quiet time for the summit with no overnight trips scheduled. Once we start having day trips and overnight trips in December, two volunteers will join us to help out with cooking bringing the total to 6 people for the rest of winter. Each

Mount Washington Observatory Founding Day 2015-10-15 11:34:17.000 - Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations   On this date in 1932, the Mount Washington Observatory was founded by the four original weather observers: Alex MacKenzie, Bob Monahan, Sal Pagliuca, and Joe Dodge. There was no pay, the living quarters were far from luxurious, and time off was virtually non-existent back in these days. These four hearty souls were driven purely by their curiosity for Mount Washington's extremes, and their ambition in enduring, observing, recording and studying this fascinating environment.   83 years later, we're following in the footsteps of our storied

Snowfall on Mount Washington 2015-10-12 17:34:35.000 - Andrew Henry, Summit Intern   After the summit received its first snow of the season this past Saturday, picking up 0.5”, some of you may be wondering things such as, when the first snow typically falls, how much snow falls on the summit in a typical year and the record amount of snow for a single season.   Rime Ice and Snow on October 10th   There is no set month for when the summit typically sees its first snow as we have seen at least a trace of snow in every month of

A Touch of Winter 2015-10-11 17:22:19.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   Mount Washington received its first snowfall of the season on Saturday! The summit was coated in half an inch of the white stuff overnight. Combined with a beautiful backdrop of changing leaves in the valley, the summit has been very photogenic recently. While this is exciting for us on the summit, we can and have seen snow in every month of the year. Our average October snowfall is 17.6 inches, so we have a ways to go! Rime Ice and Snow on the Summit! We’re seeing more

Making Friends Across the Pond 2015-10-09 22:30:09.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Co-Director of Summit Operations   We had some special visitors at the Observatory today! Three gentlemen from the Meteorological Service of Catalonia, Spain came up to the summit to tour the facilities.   Interestingly enough, there is an abandoned observatory in the Montseny Mountains that they are hoping to restore. In fact, Mount Washington Observatory and Turó de l’Home Observatory share a few things in common. Not only was the Turó de l’Home Observatory founded in 1932, but it’s also the highest mountain in Montseny Natural Park with an elevation