Wintry Weather on the Summit
2013-09-23 21:34:29.000 – Mike Dorfman, Weather Observer
Intern Tom Padham After De-Icing
Today was by far the most wintry day of my shift since late last spring. In addition to hourly observations from 5 PM to 5 AM, I also must make my way to the top of the tower every hour to make sure our instruments are ice-free. Each trip to the top of the tower results in jackets and rain pants becoming stiff with rime and subsequently melting, however my wonderful EMS gear kept me warm and dry through it all. Even while taking the observation, I had to stick my upper body, along with the snow board (a black cloth-covered board used to determine type of precipitation) into the wind, allowing even more ice accrual on my jacket.
One interesting thing that I noticed last night however is the presence of vapor trails coming off the corner of this board in high winds. Although not nearly as prominent, they reminded me of vapor trails instantaneously forming and disappearing behind plane wings. It was an incredible sight that I hadn’t seen anywhere else.
With wind speeds ramping up and fog clearing tomorrow, keep an eye towards the summit! You might even be able to see a little white!
Mike Dorfman, Weather Observer
Adjusting to Life on the Summit
Adjusting to Life on the Summit By Charlie Peachey Working on the summit of Mount Washington is not your average job. There aren't too many other places where the employees work and live together for
A Surprise Aurora
A Surprise Aurora By Francis Tarasiewicz After 17 months of working at New England’s highest peak, it finally happened. On the night of November 12th, 2023, I was lucky enough to view the famous and
A Glimpse at METAR Reports
A Glimpse at METAR Reports By Alexis George, Weather Observer & Meteorologist METAR observations are submitted every hour of every day at Mount Washington Observatory. METAR is a format for reporting weather information that gets
