My First Week at 6288′

2021-09-14 23:49:45.000 – Sam Gawel, Summit Intern

My name is Sam Gawel and I am ecstatic to be up for my first week at the Mount Washington Observatory. I was born and raised in Detroit, but the White Mountains have always been a second home, as much of my family lives in or comes from the area. Just this summer, my family moved to Piermont, NH, and we couldn’t be happier for it. This has allowed me plenty of time to explore these beautiful peaks and valleys. I am a junior at Dartmouth College majoring in environmental earth sciences, but predominantly interested in meteorology and climate science. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, mountain biking, cooking, and watching my hometown Lions lose every Sunday.

Thus far, this internship has featured some pretty remarkable moments. The picture above is from my second night here, and features the most beautiful sunset that I have ever seen. Incredibly, I’m told by the observers that it gets even better. This week, I have also had the privilege of experiencing battering winds, including a peak gust of the week at 93 mph. Throughout all of this, I have had the opportunity to shadow these observers as they show me how to record observations of the surrounding weather conditions, as well as being introduced to the beautiful complexity of creating forecasts. I would say that I am most excited to learn more about this process, considering that it involves a plethora of data to effectively predict the future. This first week has not been overly intense, as the observers are easing us in as we learn more about our roles here and acclimate to the new environment.

In the short time that I have been here, I am blown away by the space and people which I am getting to know. The opportunity to pursue my interest in one of the field’s most interesting sites has been a dream already. I am looking forward to all that this internship has yet to teach and show me.

Sam Gawel, Summit Intern