Mountain Life Quirkiness

2021-06-01 09:27:42.000 – Michael Brown, Summit Intern

What’s up! My name is Michael Brown, and I am one of the many interns working at the Mount Washington Observatory this summer. While I am a life-long New England resident from Shelton, Connecticut, and no stranger to the cold, Mount Washington truly lives up to its phrase of the home of the world’s worst weather! I am a rising second-year meteorology major at North Carolina State University, with a special love for extreme weather. Some of my personal hobbies include biking, playing sports (especially volleyball), and storm chasing.

After my first visit to the summit some years ago, I always dreamed of working in the observatory, and am thrilled to have this opportunity! The extreme weather of the summit and the spectacular views from the observatory piqued my interest, and I look forward to experiencing first-hand the wild winds and wacky weather conditions the summit is known for.

During my short time on the summit so far, I have learned quite a lot. Having only had a little education in meteorology so far, I was a little worried that I would be well behind in my knowledge, but that has simply not been the case! I quickly became acquainted with many observatory duties, including taking hourly temperature observations, determining cloud layer heights, and determining visibility using local geography. In my off time so far, I have enjoyed watching sunsets, exploring the summit with the other intern on my shift, A.J., and chatting with the day and night observers. I am very excited to greet visitors to the summit museum in the next few weeks, and I look forward to the projects that lie ahead in this internship!

 

On my first night here, I was welcomed into the position by an amazing sunset in the mountains. As the sun journeyed below the mountain peaks in the distance, a truly spectacular view of backlit clouds and virga (precipitation that does not reach the ground) appeared to the west. I can’t wait to view more sunsets, and perhaps some early sunrises, during my time working here at the Mount Washington Observatory!

Michael Brown, Summit Intern