Sunrise Drive on the Summit

2014-08-31 19:44:56.000 – Mike Dorfman,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist

Star Trails and ‘Headlight Trails’ Before Sunrise

This morning was the third and final sunrise drive of the summer! For those of you unfamiliar, these drives, hosted by the Mount Washington Auto Road, allow visitors to drive to the summit in the early morning and watch the sunrise from the summit. In typical Mount Washington fashion however, clouds enveloped the summit a few short hours before sunrise this morning, giving the visitors on the summit a view of many shades of lightening gray fog but not too much else. The summit of Mount Washington is in the fog around sixty percent of the year, so good sunrises are often hard to come by. Sunrises on Mount Washington are a lot like fishing – you may have to wait a while through a lot of boring foggy mornings, but when you do manage to catch a sunrise, it is absolutely spectacular.

If you’re interested in participating in a unique educational opportunity, the Mount Washington Observatory is hosting its annual White Mountains Geology workshop! Join us September 20th for both an indoor presentation and outdoor fieldwork in locations surrounding Mount Washington with significant geological interest! We hope to see you there!

Mike Dorfman,  Weather Observer/IT Specialist