Out of the Clouds

2007-07-09 01:59:49.000 – Zach Allen,  Meteorologist

Evening on the rockpile…

Greetings from your friendly Mount Washington Observatory night observer!

Something wonderful happened as I began the night shift… we broke out of the fog! The summit received more sunlight in the first hour out we broke out then we have had since late Wednesday afternoon. The sun was more then welcome to the summit as it set up for a fantastic evening.

Conditions were good, to great, to fantastic as the evening progressed. Each observation had increasing dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures which gave us relative humidity values as little as six percent! At one point our air temperature was at fifty degrees fahrenheit and the dew point was fifteen below zero. The air definitely seemed drier as clouds cover diminished and the summit dried off from the rain we experienced earlier in the day.

Dinnertime was interrupted by the sunset which was very much enjoyed. As the sun lowered toward the northwest just south of Jay Peak, so many different colors filled the sky. Reds, oranges, yellows, blues and purples were reflected through the sky. Even the vegetation reflected a vibrant green. Our sunset was topped off with the summit fox stopping by for a visit.

Finally yesterday was one of our summer interns birthday! Cathy Radonic turned 21 and got to witness a great evening. Happy birthday from all of us at the Mount Washington Observatory.

Zach Allen,  Meteorologist