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2010-02-19 11:49:33.000 – Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist

We don’t receive much exposure to the to the rest of the world in our little corner of New England, and we’re always looking for ways to expand our “territory”. The domain of our small organization lies primarily in New England, extending southward into the mid-Atlantic with a few stragglers from all over the country. Weather geeks and mountaineers can most likely account or the stragglers. Recently, we’ve had some success in expanding our membership. Through an amazing publication in National Geographic and multiple appearances on The Weather Channel and various other eastern seaboard news stations, we’ve managed to rope in a few more keen obserevers.

Something that we’ve been lacking is the westward expansion. With 14,000 foot mountains and epic powder, we’ve lost the western winter weather enthusiasts to the Rockies and we’ve lost the mountaineers to the Cascades and the real die-hards to Denali. We believe that our wickedly windy weather (fastest wind speed recorded in the northern hemisphere!) and unique geography can offer even the most experienced mountaineer a challenge, even the most jaded skier a thrill, and even the most windblown meteorologist a stiff breeze. So, the Observatory has embarked on a mission.

We’ve selected a couple of seasoned veterans; those we felt who could make the difficult transition from cold and cloudy New Hampshire to warm and sunny San Diego. It’s a tough challenge, but we are confident that Michelle Cruz, Scot Henley, and Casey Taylor will be able to deftly bring our message, mission, and organization west. The AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) is holding their annual meeting this weekend. With scientists, educators, engineers, and policy makers convening from all over the country and the world, the meeting is a perfect opportunity for the Observatory to network.

It’s also the perfect opportunity to show those educators, scientists, policy makers, and even the engineers our technology prowess. We’re going to give them a small, appetizing taste of Mount Washington through video conferences. So, tonight, tomorrow night, and Sunday nigth, every hour from 2-7 pm EST, for about fifteen minutes we will be connecting to sunny San Diego. We’re going to show them how different and amazing our mountain and weather is. We’re going to wow them with our dedication and our history. We will ignite a curiosity about the mountain, the people, and the organization. Our mission will be complete and successful.

Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist