Rding Out Noel.
2007-11-04 03:03:51.000 – Zach Allen, Meteorologist
Extreme Harvest!
With the light shining from my headlamp, the iced objects in the dark reminded me of the famous photograph of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance. The low light on the accumulating glaze and rime ice craft the Mount Washington version of the ship encased in ice. My personal battle wasn’t to survive or to be rescued but to continually defeat the icing growing atop the tower due to what once was Hurricane Noel.
The storm that packed a wallop on the New England coast is now departing. Here at the summit, we were on the very edge of the extratropical cyclone. Storm clouds loomed towards dusk on Friday as skies became overcast. Throughout the day yesterday, skies remained overcast as the line of precipitation came closer and closer. The summit was on the rim of precipitation and only recorded .02” of rain. Winds during the day were stronger along the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts then they were here. By the time my shift began (5:30 EDT), the summit went into the fog, temperatures started to drop and winds increased. Thus far the peak wind has been 102 mph and the pressure has bottomed out at 23.26” of mercury. Deicing has been a blast as I hoot and holler as the roaring wind drowns my voice out! The summit’s appearance will be a sight to see once it clears from the clouds.
On a side note… A few days ago, Karen and Linnea carved two pumpkins for Halloween. Once the holiday was over I placed the pumpkins outside for this week. They became as hard as a rock as the temperature dropped to 11 degrees. Now they are riding out the storm on the deck with hurricane force winds and ice! Looks like the frozen fruit will see one more storm before the end of our shift!
Zach Allen, Meteorologist
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