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2011-04-07 19:07:31.000 – Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist

one of my many vacation destinations!

I have returned from my vacation, ready to break the silence that settled on the summit last week! To be completely honest, on Tuesday (fueled by gloomy rain and the fact that it had been 75 degrees and sunny when I left the mid-Atlantic) the ‘back to work’ blues started to kick in.

Those quickly evaporated yesterday (as on Wednesdays, there usually isn’t time to be grumpy) and completely vanished this morning! Though I was a little late for sunrise, during my first observation the crystal clear view of the frosted mountain peaks took my breath away. The clear conditions will persist through the next few days, with temperatures approaching a balmy 50 degrees on Monday. In fact, the tropical conditions might even lend themselves to a chance for thunderstorm activity (but let’s not get carried away)!

It happens every April – or at least for the past four that I’ve been here. The Meltdown! In 2008, it lasted a whole 9 days and ended with a minor flood in the bottom of the tower. 2009 is a little fuzzy, but in 2010 the first week of April was quite warm and we did a lot of preventative shoveling. A few more days of sunny skies and warming temperatures are on tap (like Yeungling in the mid-Atlantic). I just love this time of year on the mountain. The transition is so interesting and never exactly the same.

Stacey Kawecki,  Observer and Meteorologist