Thank You All For My Time Here
2019-01-23 05:01:53.000 – Christopher Hohman, Night Observer/Staff Meteorologist
They say time flies when you’re having fun. To say that my time here has gone by quick, is quite frankly an understatement. The joy that this job has given me every night really cannot be put into words. The countless starry nights, all the storms (both summer and winter alike), and the fastest winds I’ll ever experience in my life. It all has meant the world to me. Above all of that thought, there’s really one part of this job that will carry with me for the rest of my life; the friendships.
Over the summer, Emily Tunkel (one of the interns up here) and I became incredibly close. She is still one of the only people who have ever stayed up with me more than once to work a night shift! The constant jokes, and bounding moments we shared have lead us to maintain a friendship even to today. I am incredibly thankful for her and all the advice she has given me.
Adam and I moved in with one another a few weeks after I started. Not only did we have a bunch of great moments here, but also hanging around Jackson was a blast. It seemed like it was almost every day we were making up some random plans to go do something. I’ll miss our daily talks at 5:00 a.m. when he’d come up to let me go to sleep. I’d tell myself to only talk to him for a few minutes, but it was always half an hour later until I was walking down the steps to my room. I was always so tired and not able to offer much, but they I’ll never forget those talks.
Someone I know who will always be a close friend in my life? That’s an easy question. Ian Bailey. That man is at the top in terms of the greatest people I’ve ever met. I really can’t offer enough praise to only his work ethic, but also who he is as a person. I am beyond honored to consider him a friend, and I can’t wait for all the amazing times we’ll have in the future.
I got to head out with a bang on Monday night. My previous wind record was 121 MPH, and as of writing this, it’s been increased to…..137MPH! A pretty large jump if I do say so myself. The wind chill was something to behold as well. We hovered around -80F wind chill all night. The best way I can describe it is like a freezing knife to your skin. Fun to experience for a second or two, but definitely no longer than that. You can feel the frostbite forming on your skin. Here’s a picture of the Hays chart:
There are a lot of people I’d love to thank. Really, everyone at this organization helped me succeed here, but it’d be a long blog post if I mentioned everyone individually. I’d of course like to point out Sharon Schilling, (our president) for hiring me on in the first place. I really owe the rest of my career to her. Ryan Knapp, for all his help finding my errors at the start. He helped me to become better meteorologists for this place. And of course, my Fiancé Julia. Without her, there is isn’t a chance I’d be where I am today.
It’s really hard leaving this place. You grow so attached to the work. The respect and renown of the Mount Washington Observatory is known around the entire world. I look at our symbol, and I feel such pride knowing I had the privilege to work there. I will always look back fondly on my time here. The memories will simply last a lifetime.
My time here will always have a special place in my heart. This is where the most important parts of my life began. I don’t think I’ll ever really get over having to work somewhere else. Being an Observer is just so unique, and so rewarding. Regardless, I thank you all again for supporting this wonderful organization. I hope you continue to in the future, I know I will.
As always, thank you for reading. I hope you found my past blogs informative and fun! I’ll leave you all with one of my favorite quotes about this place. One that I would think of every single day:
“The mountains speak for themselves”
They sure do.
Christopher Hohman, Night Observer/Staff Meteorologist
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