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2006-05-09 01:23:34.000 – Jim Salge,  Observer

Taking in the View

The lingering ice from Sunday was all but a memory by the time I went to bed yesterday morning, even though temperatures had remained below freezing. The reason, the air had been so dry overnight that it all sublimated away in the wind. Simply put, it ‘evaporated’ directly from solid ice to water vapor seemingly (actually) overnight. This process happens all the time up here, but to lose so much ice that quickly was rather impressive!

Tim mentioned in yesterday’s comment that the weather has seemingly been keeping the same 12 hour shifts that we are on the summit recently. And this fast moving 4 to 4 weather pattern continued yesterday! As soon as my shift ended, skies overhead again cleared and the temperature shot up above freezing in route to the mid 40s. The warmth combined with sunny skies and light winds combined for a perfect spring day on the summit.

When I came back to work at 4PM though, high clouds were filtering in from the South, and haze was filling the valleys, limiting visibilities below. Certainly not bad weather, and in fact, perfect weather for taking in the sunset. The picture at right shows our intern Rick enjoying the view just after the sun went down. The real treat though occurred as the sun hit the horizon. I’ll try to get a picture of that in the Photo Journal later today!

Jim Salge,  Observer