First Freeze 2015-10-05 20:35:40.000 - Adam Gill, Summit Intern   Unfortunately this week there were no #MWOMetMonday questions to answer but there are still some interesting things to talk about this week! Much of New England was hit with a decent amount of rain last Tuesday and Wednesday, though trivial compared to the amount South Carolina got over the past several days. Up here on the summit, we picked up over five and a half inches of rain along with some strong winds. The winds were from the east when we had our heaviest rain, which is blowing right at

What has happened in the last 110 days? 2015-10-04 20:06:30.000 - Michael Kyle, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   In the last 110 days, the U.S. Women's soccer team won FIFA’s Women's World Cup, Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the U.S. Presidential Election in 2016, the first female graduated from the Army’s Ranger School, and Mount Washington stayed above freezing for 104 days. That’s right, from June 18th, 2015 through September 30th ,2015, Mount Washington did not drop below freezing (32°F). While that isn’t making headlines around the world, it is buzzing around the Mount Washington Observatory. The 104-day streak of above-freezing temperatures

Hurricane Joaquin and a Taste of Winter 2015-10-02 18:10:30.000 - Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Meteorologist   After a few days of a very challenging forecast with regards to Hurricane Joaquin, the models have finally came into better agreement, and it looks like New England and the east coast will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Nearly all of the models typically used by meteorologists to forecast the weather now have the powerful hurricane turning north from the Bahamas and then passing just west of Bermuda and out to sea. There will still likely be high surf and coastal flooding

Hurricane Joaquin 2015-09-30 16:17:39.000 - Mike Carmon, Co-Director of Summit Operations   Hurricane season is in full swing, and there's a storm in the Atlantic Basin that's beginning to nose its way into the headlines. That storm is Hurricane Joaquin. As of 2PM EDT, Joaquin is a Category 1 Hurricane, with maximum sustained winds upwards of 85MPH. Joaquin is positioned northeast of the Bahamas, currently moving towards the southwest. Hurricane Joaquin has strengthened quite a bit today, and is expected to continue this strengthening trend as its environment becomes much more conducive for tropical development. Although Joaquin is currently moving

This Week's #MWOMetMonday 2015-09-28 17:09:39.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   Welcome back to our weekly #MWOMetMonday.   Our first question is from Tim Myers on Twitter who asks:     While we do not keep records on the length of rime ice, one event for me sticks out as having the longest rime ice formations I’ve personally witnessed and measured. During the end of January into the start of February 2012, a moist flow from the south set up as cold air encroached from the north. The one-two punch of these two allowed rime to build. But let

Summit News 2015-09-26 18:42:27.000 - Kaitlyn O'Brien, Co-director of Summit Operations   There have been a lot of great happenings around here recently! Last night we held a special event in the Extreme Mount Washington Museum for our Science Society and President’s Club members. Director of Research Dr. Eric Kelsey and President Brian Fowler gave very informative presentations, focusing on past, present, and future research at the Observatory. We enjoyed a great evening mingling with our supporters. Thank you to all of our members! We truly couldn’t do it without you. Earlier this shift, Former Observer Bob Gerath paid us a visit. Bob worked

Winter is Coming 2015-09-24 17:12:10.000 - Michael Dorfman, Weather Observer/IT Specialist   It’s getting to that time of the year again! On the summit, it's time to start replacing the screen windows with an extra bulletproof storm window. Soon we’ll have our first glaze event, and not soon after we’ll have our first frozen precipitation! We’ve recorded snowfall every month of the year, with average of 2.2 inches of frozen precipitation recorded in September. I’m also very excited for the winds to start kicking up. Thanks to a looser temperature and pressure gradient in New England in the summertime, we

A Wonderful Volunteer Week 2015-09-16 06:20:55.000 - Laura Dorfman, Summit Volunteer   This has been an awesome week for me volunteering for the Mount Washington Observatory. This is the second time I have been up, and I still am amazed and honored to be a part of the crew. This week had quite the variety of weather. I had time to hike, which is particularly nice because I get to start from the top and loop back. I got to see an Aurora, which is something I was very excited to see, although I was warned to be underwhelmed. We

#MWOMetMonday Round Two 2015-09-14 18:24:15.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   Welcome back to our weekly #MWOMetMonday. Our first question is a common one this time of year. We typically see several Facebook posts, Tweets, and emails asking the following: Over our 82+ year record, we have seen an at least one inch of snow for every month of the year. So, it is possible and not uncommon for the summit to see some amount of snow. That is one reason why it is important for hikers to check the forecast for snow and/or cold even during the summer

Above the Clouds 2015-09-13 15:55:14.000 - Andrew Henry, Summit Intern   While on the summits of taller mountains one can find themselves above the clouds. This was the case on Friday at Mount Washington Observatory.       When one finds themselves above the clouds, what they are seeing is referred to as undercast rather than overcast because the clouds are under or below them instead of over or above. It is possible to have both overcast and undercast conditions occurring simultaneously.      A lot of people have never seen undercast before and for good reason: there has to be