My summer at 800 mb

2018-08-16 09:33:01.000 – Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern

 

In a typical year I would be excited for the end of summer. The cooler temperatures of fall and the first snowflakes of winter are something I look forward to every year. Unfortunately, the end of this summer indicates the end of my time at Mount Washington as a summer intern. Since today is my last day at the summit, I thought I’d write a quick wrap up of all the exciting events I had the opportunity to experience here. Every week seemed to bring a new adventure and unique phenomenon I wouldn’t be able to witness anywhere else.

Week 1: May 16-23

In my first higher summits forecast I predicted maximum wind gusts up to 95 mph. The actual peak wind gust was 92 mph on May 19 ^th. I unfortunately wasn’t outside in it since it occurred overnight, but the sustained winds in the 50s earlier in the day were still the strongest winds I ever experienced. Add rain pelting your face and 40 degree temperatures, and you end up with pretty extreme conditions for May.

Week 2: May 30 – June 6

When I first looked at the forecast for Mount Washington May 30 ^th, I was cautiously optimistic – MOS was showing temperatures around freezing with lots of precipitation for June 4 ^th and 5 ^th. I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much; after all, it was June and I know from past experience that even in the dead of winter getting excited for model forecasts 5 days out often leads to disappointment. However, as each day passed, the forecast stayed consistent: freezing rain, sleet, and snow were indeed looking likely for the higher summits. On the morning of the 4 ^th temperatures dropped into the 20s with heavy freezing rain. Around ½ an inch of ice accrued on exposed surfaces making it one of the largest ice storms I’ve experienced in my life. On Tuesday June 5 ^th, I witnessed my first June snowfall with 0.8” of snow accumulating. I mentioned this in a previous blog, and I will continue to mention it for the rest of my life: I made a snowman in June.

Week 3: June 13-20

Week 3 was my windiest week on the summit with winds averaging 34.3 mph (about 7mph faster than average for the month of June). The 19 ^th featured a couple gusts of 94 mph; the strongest gusts I was outside in. It’s hard to describe how difficult it is to walk when gusts are that strong, and I can only imagine what it was like to experience the 231 mph winds observers recorded here in 1934.

Week 4: June 27- July 4

This was the week of record heat across the Northeast with highs in the 90s throughout much of New Hampshire. The higher elevations in the White Mountains had record highs too; however, temperatures only rose into the lower 70s. With all this heat I was fearful the remaining snow on Mount Jefferson and Tuckerman Ravine would melt off, but fortunately both piles survived into July. Even some news outlets were fascinated with the remaining snow. The Boston Globe published an article about the remaining snow, and my snowman from early June even got some fame on The Concord Monitor. In fact, for a little while if you googled the word “snow” and looked at the news results, the White Mountain snow were 3 of the first 5 news stories.

 

Simon Wachholz, Summit Intern