adm_mwobs, Author at Mount Washington Observatory

Partnerships Key to Continuous Mesonet Operation

By Peter Gagne, Technology & Operations Manager | November 15, 2021

An AMC helicopter airlifts 150-pound batteries plus other heavy items to Mizpah Spring and Lakes of the Clouds huts on Sept. 13.

Ringo Starr was mostly the silent, steady figure in the Greatest Band of all Time, but one line from a Beatles’ song that featured his vocals is particularly pertinent to our topic: “Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends.”

During my time at the Observatory, we have partnered with many businesses, organizations, and universities to support our Mount Washington Regional Mesonet (MWRM). These include Campbell Scientific, Vaisala, Taylor Engineering, Boston Dynamics, Plymouth State University, UNH, MIT, UMass Lowell, and even our local Kennett High School machine shop class. Most of the local ski areas have been instrumental in situating mesonet sites at elevation. Sites are also provided by the Cog Railway, Mount Washington Auto Road, and private landowners such as the Progins in Jackson on top of old Tyrol Ski Area.

I’d like to focus on one partner in particular, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC).

MWRM, our multi-site connected series of weather stations, would not be possible without AMC’s permission and cooperation. Some of the earliest mesonet stations were installed at their Mizpah Spring Hut, Lakes of the Clouds Hut, the Hermit Lake Shelters, and the Highland Center. These sites were already operating prior to my start at the Observatory in August 2010, although in some cases they were not fully completed. I was the “new guy,” replacing my predecessor Brian Forcier, and I was crazy jealous to hear of helicopter trips to transport tower sections and heavy equipment, arranged courtesy of AMC staff. Perhaps someday, I’d get the chance to “fly like an eagle.”

Much of the MWRM was funded by grants obtained in partnership with AMC. The Obs was operating under the three-year Alpine Project when I started. It was a multi-pronged approach to expand our mesonet, developing a web-based system for data display and educational modules, such as distance learning via teleconference, outreach through use of new displays, Edutrips, presentations, guest speakers, and articles in membership publications. Needless to say, there were many people involved from many departments across both organizations.

In all symbiotic relationships, there is give and take. In addition to providing historical weather data for AMC’s internal research, our interactive system provides access to live information beyond temperature, humidity, and wind at their hut locations. We also monitor their solar arrays and battery voltage in real time. This way, they know in an instant if there are any problems. In some cases, we have installed and operated specific weather instruments at AMC’s request. Examples include ground temperature sensors at ARVP 5,300 and an ozone counter at the Cog Base, among many others.

In fall 2021, our mesonet team was tasked with providing our own solar power at Mizpah and Lakes huts. We had been operating on AMC’s solar arrays at both of these sites since they were established, but they have been slowly switching from lead-acid to lithium-ion batteries, which provide an infinitely more stable power output, but cannot be charged below 32 degrees. That obviously is a problem in the White Mountains, so we had to devise a solution.

Working together with Tom Siedel, Seth Quarrier, and David Evankow, we came up with a plan that does not require us to install new exterior solar panels. Adding anything on the outside of the huts requires Nation-al Forest approval, and that can take years in some cases. So they are allowing us to tap into their existing photovoltaic array, as long as we have our own charge controller and batteries separate from their system.

Technology & Operations Manager Pete Gagne, right, helps an AMC staffer prepare for the airlift.

We purchased a Midnite Solar “The Kid” charge controller and a Sunwize 240 amp/hour AGM battery for the job. Lots of wires, connectors, conduit, hangers, and other hardware make quite a load, and we’re grateful to AMC for helping with logistics to get every-thing to the remote sites.

Some may have noticed that data from Lakes of the Clouds hasn’t been displaying for quite some time. The old radio failed, and the last spare we had was no good, so we decided it was time to replace all of the radios on the west-ern side of the Observatory with newer, faster ones. We hope to complete this work before winter.

With AMC’s support, we will keep the lights on (figure of speech) and the data flowing from these sites.

The Mount Washington Regional Mesonet is comprised of more than a dozen remote weather stations, each needing continuous monitoring and maintenance to capture weather conditions across the varied White Mountains terrain.

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Understanding Weather as a Source of Empowerment and Awe Francis Tarasiewicz on the summit observation deck. “For thunderstorms, we either make them or break them.” “Our winds are typically strongest when they’re coming from the west.” “You really don’t start to get knocked over until

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Citizen Science Puts Weather Reporting in Your Hands A distant shower falls over Mount Martha, NH (aka, Cherry Mountain). If you’re anything like me, you probably have an app or two dedicated to weather on your phone. Maybe you have a preferred app

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Weather 101: Tropical Storms

By Nicole Tallman, Past Weather Observer & Education Specialist | November 15, 2021

An example of a hurricane’s eye and surrounding eye wall, where the most ferocious winds of the storm occur. NOAA photo.

Come late summer and early fall, we begin to hear more about activity in the tropics. The threat of hurricanes becomes more prominent and you may find yourself thinking about how and why these storms are forming.

One of the strongest storms known to people, a hurricane begins its life cycle as a cluster of thunderstorms in the tropical or sub-tropical waters. These waters tend to be their warmest in the late summer after intense summer sunlight has been beating down for several months. The air surrounding the surface of the water begins to heat up, evaporating some of the moisture from the ocean. This is the initial ingredient needed to begin building a thunderstorm.

Once the air is warm and moist, it begins to rise through the cooler atmosphere. The ideal set up for developing strong storms is when the atmosphere is cool, yet the ocean waters are still warm. Moving into early fall, the oceans hold on to their warmth and the air begins to cool, creating “instability” for the warm moist air at the surface of the ocean. The air continues to rise in the atmosphere, creating a thunderstorm.

The ocean continues to warm the air closest to the water’s surface and in turn, feeds the rising pocket of air. This allows for low-pressure to form because the air is rising up higher into the atmosphere. Low-pressure centers in the Northern Hemisphere rotate counterclockwise, and in the development of a hurricane, you will start to see the cluster of thunderstorms become more organized and even begin to rotate.

Once the system has its own cut-off low-pressure system, winds will begin to increase, creating a stronger storm. Once winds reach 39 mph the storm gets the label of a tropical storm, and they become a hurricane at 74 mph.

The categories of a hurricane on the Saffir Simpson scale are wind-dependent, and as the storm produces higher and higher winds, it can increase itself to a category 5 hurricane, the strongest storm known. A very indicative physical feature of a strong hurricane is its eye. This is the calm center of the low-pressure system where winds die down and rain ceases. However, surrounding the eye is the eye wall, which has the most ferocious winds of the storm. Very strong hurricanes will develop this eye, which can clearly be visible from satellite, like in the example below.

A few hazards of hurricanes include the devastating wind speeds, storms surge, very strong thunderstorms and even tornadoes imbedded in the rain bands of the hurricane.

Most of these hazards dwindle once a hurricane makes landfall and is no longer over its main energy source, the warm ocean waters. However, hurricanes that have weakened or died out can continue to impact the weather of surrounding areas and areas “downstream” from the storm.

The immense amount of moisture and energy from hurricanes have been known to make their way from areas such as the gulf or southern east coast of the U.S. all the way to the Northeast. While it is less common for areas in New England to receive a direct impact of a hurricane, we quite frequently will get saturating rains, elevated winds, or a round of very inclement weather due to the remnants of tropical storms and hurricanes.

One recent example is Hurricane Isaias, which occurred in August 2020. Isaias made landfall on the coast of North Carolina with wind speeds sustained near 85 mph. It caused significant storm surge, and multiple tornadoes at landfall. Once on land, the storm weakened to a tropical storm and continued to impact cities such as New York and Philadelphia.

Remnants eventually made their way all the way north to the summit of Mount Washington, where the crew experienced heavy downpours and a max gust wind speed of 147 mph, a new record wind speed for the month of August.

In his blog dated August 5, 2020, Weather Observer Sam Robinson wrote, “Suddenly at 8PM sharp, the chart spiked showing a gust of 147 mph! The wind database was cross referenced and sure enough, it showed a peak gust of 146.7 mph from the southeast! Our crew celebrated the feat as it set all of our personal records and we then shared the news with the state park crew who also had a few new personal records set. We soon discovered that besides personal records, it also set a new all-time wind record for the month of August! The previous record was 142 mph set back in August of 1954.”

Massive and intense, tropical storms can impact areas all the way from their development to far past their site of landfall.

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The Science Behind Nor’Easters

Extra-Tropical Cyclones and the Extreme Weather they Make on Mount Washington

The Feb. 25, 2019 Hays Chart shows a 171 mph wind gust, caused by the passage of an ETC and the development of a secondary area of low pressure, which is characteristic of a nor’easter.

Unique beasts known for punishing weather, nor’easters serve an important purpose for our globe despite their infamous reputation.

A type of extra-tropical cyclone (ETC), nor’easters get their colloquial name from unique localized characteristics, mainly the coastal northeast flow that occurs before the onset of the storm, which often portends snowfall, coastal high surf, and high winds.

The factors influencing the paths of these beautiful and destructive systems are similar. Serving a critical purpose, ETCs and nor’easters redistribute heat energy from the tropics to the poles.

The earth, engineered to seek equilibrium, uses ETCs as a synoptic-scale (massive) temperature and moisture regulating mechanism. Irregular heating and our spinning sphere prevent total equilibrium, yet the earth accomplishes its need to redistribute energy.

Figure 1: General circulation of air from equator to poles and poles to equator. COMET® Program graphic.

As seen in Figure 1, heat rises from the equator and lifts north. The airmass, as it reaches the poles, cools and then sinks to the surface, heading south to start the process over again. As heat rises and lifts from the equator, and the other air masses cool, descend, and travel south, they eventually meet in the mid-latitudes.

At 44.17°N, Mount Washington’s latitude is less than 1° away from the exact middle point between the North Pole and equator. The position of the Presidential Range relative to the Atlantic Ocean, which is a considerable distance, and the elevation of the peaks, put the White Mountain summits in prime position to experience some intense winds and snowfall rates from ETCs.

When combined with the orographic (how mountains alter weather), wedge set-up of the Presidential Range, ETCs and nor’easters have produced some of the most extreme weather events experienced on Mount Washington’s summit.

Extreme wind events in Mount Washington Observatory’s (MWO) history that were caused by the passage of an ETC and the development of a secondary area of low pressure, which is characteristic of a nor’easter, include the fastest wind speed ever directly observed by people on April 12, 1934 at 231 mph.

During a recent wind event on February 25, 2019, observers recorded a gust of 171 mph, caused by a set-up similar to the 1934 World Record Wind. While the secondary low is a characteristic phenomenon of a nor’easter, the secondary development usually merges and overtakes the primary low or forms as a single entity in the Mid-Atlantic and moves northeast along the coast.

Observers were glued to the Hays Chart on February 25, 2019

It is important to note that the most extreme wind events experienced on Mount Washington were not caused exclusively by nor’easters. They exhibited many nor’easter features, but in these cases, a deep upper-level wave, commonly cut off from the polar vortex, was intense enough to cause an anomalously deep wave in tropopause pressure.

In early March 2021, such a system brought high winds gusting at 147 mph to the summit along with some of the coldest temperatures of winter 2021. The temperature dropped to –28°F. With sustained 130 mph winds, wind chills plunged to 80°F below zero. Meanwhile in the valley, power and heat outages as well as significant damage occurred, including a downed tree in the Observatory’s North Conway office parking lot.

ETCs, also referred to as mid-latitude or wave cyclones, develop as air masses mix in an attempt to dynamically bring about equilibrium of temperature, moisture, and pressure. When the two air masses meet, fluids are deflected to the right (or left in the southern hemisphere) due to the Coriolis effect. This creates counter-clockwise rotation around an area of low pressure.

ETCs are a type of cyclone, which are synoptic-scale low-pressure systems that occur in the mid-latitudes, generally between 30°N and 60°N. They are responsible for a majority of the inclement weather across the globe, especially along the boundary between an eastern continental landmass and a western coast of an ocean.

All nor’easters are ETCs, but not all ETCs are Nor’easters. In the U.S., ETCs tend to affect the northern half of the country as Alberta Clippers and commonly make their way to New England. Nor’easters affect the eastern coastline with particular focus on the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Sometimes, there is a combination of the two, and even cases where systems merge. The previously mentioned record wind gusts measured by MWO all resulted from merging systems. Strong and deep tropospheric waves affected the stratosphere, destabilizing the jet stream and allowing the polar vortex to destabilize and detach.

These systems are not to be confused with tropical cyclones (hurricanes). Extratropical and tropical systems can and sometimes do look strikingly similar on satellite, but differ in some very distinct ways. Arguably the most visible and notable contrast between the two is the comma-shape extension of an ETC that commonly extends to the south along the cold front of the system. ETCs also lack a closed eyewall typically observed in tropical cyclones.

Dynamics wise, the development and evolution of ETCs involve strong temperature and moisture gradients between air masses, known as baroclinic zones, which is why these systems are also called baroclinic cyclones. As a mid-to-upper-level wave approaches such a zone, the two air masses begin to mix and the process of cyclogenesis ensues. This is in contrast to tropical cyclones, which are more vertically surface-based, non-frontal, and develop from convection over warm ocean waters in low horizontal wind shear (gradient) environments.

Every ETC is an individual. Despite each storm’s unique features, they do have many similarities, generally forming along boundaries of differential air masses where temperature and moisture gradients occur with significant vertical wind differences (shear). Cyclogenesis occurs along baroclinic zones near an area in the jet stream where winds are the highest. Known as jet streaks, these areas happen in the atmosphere’s lower and upper levels.

Lower-level jets tend to pass at elevations around the summit of Mount Washington, assigning the Observatory an important responsibility of measuring jet streak velocities.

As the cyclone progresses, the cold front rotates counterclockwise and moves around the back of the cyclone with denser, cooler, and drier air. Meanwhile, the associated warm front progresses more slowly. The warm front’s air mass has to fight gravity as it lifts and mixes into a cooler air mass ahead of the system. As the cold front sweeps around, the denser air undercuts the less dense, warmer, and more humid air, forcing air aloft as well. Later, when the cold front meets and mixes with the warm front, the cyclone begins to occlude.

Occlusion is when the cold air mass overtakes the warm front and becomes cut off from the center of the low by being blocked off by the cold air. Colder air begins to fill the air column, replacing the warm, humid air which causes the system to weaken. Cold air in the column prevents lift and decreases the temperature gradient enough for the cyclone to become barotropically cold. The system becomes stacked and collapses on itself until it dissipates along with the frontal systems associated with the ETC.

Atmospheric pressure can fall very rapidly when there are strong upper-level forces on the system or there is extreme latent heat release as a system moves from a dry continental air mass to a moist oceanic air mass.

When the pressure falls faster than 1 MB (0.030 inHG) per hour, the process is called explosive cyclogenesis or bombogenesis, and these tend to be the nor’easters well known in the Northeast.

Having discussed the life cycle of an ETC, what makes nor’easters different from other ETCs? The difference lies in the track plus the heightened potential of a nor’easters to undergo explosive cyclogenesis due to the geographic set-up of North America. Commonly, areas of low pressure form on the lee side of the Rocky Mountains as an upper-level wave feature crosses over the range, then meets the warm, humid air lifting north from the Gulf of Mexico.

The upper-level troughs in the jet stream tend to dip farther south than the wave features that form Alberta Clippers. The Gulf of Mexico is a very warm body of water that helps feed the Gulf Stream, which moves northeast along the eastern seaboard. Some of these areas of low pressure that come off of the Rockies deepen as convection kicks off, and heat energy is absorbed by what could develop into a nor’easter. As the beginning of the system moves over the Appalachians around the Mid-Atlantic states, it becomes compressed and spreads out to deepen again on the Appalachians’ lee side.

Having said that, an interesting feature also tends to occur on the windward side, and this can be unique to North America, similar to the injection of warm, humid air from the gulf. The cold air descending from the north gets wedged between the Appalachians and the East Coast in a process called cold air damming. Ultimately, the damming can enhance baroclinicity in the lower levels and often form a secondary area of surface low pressure separate from the initial trough and wave feature.

This newly developed center of surface low pressure begins to rotate as warm air is pushed east and absorbs moisture from the warm Atlantic waters. Because of the heightened baroclinicity and the amount of potential energy that warm surface waters of the coastal Atlantic store and can release, explosive or rapid intensification occurs.

With the arrival of another winter in the White Mountains, Mount Washington will undoubtedly be treated with many ETCs and hopefully some more high winds, cold temperatures, and snow from nor’easters.

By Jay Broccolo, Weather Observer & Meteorologist | November 15, 2021

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Support Us

Mount Washington Observatory is a nonprofit research and educational institution working to advance understanding of Earth’s weather and climate.

We cannot do this without your support!

With Shoulder Season Comes Critical Transition in Operations

2021-11-08 18:34:34.000 – Sam Robinson, Weather Observer/Engineer

Shoulder season is underway for us at the Mount Washington Observatory and it can certainly be a hectic time of year, posing unique challenges in regards to transportation to the summit of Mount Washington. Although most folks are enjoying fall weather at low elevations, winter is starting to bare its teeth at high elevations.

As reported in my Oct. 25 Higher Summits Forecast, “a general 2 to 5 inches of snow is expected across the higher summits with higher amounts possible with upslope enhancement, and lesser amounts at lower elevations. Temperatures look to stay cold enough for snow to fall for a majority of the day but the air looks to warm enough to support a wintry mix or even a switchover to plain rain late. A brief period of freezing rain is even possible.”

The dynamic nature of the weather on Mount Washington, with its quick and unexpected changes of conditions, make the task of planning and executing transportation difficult. With the Mt. Washington Auto Road now being closed for the season, our snowcat has been transported by flatbed up to Winter Cut-Off (about halfway up the road) where it will be staged until the road is snow covered top to bottom. The staging of the snowcat prevents the lower, bare sections of road from being damaged by the metal cleats and carbide studs on the tracks. Before snow limits our mode of transportation to the snow cat, we also utilize our 4wd van and pickup truck equipped with tire chains. All of us observers (and interns) are trained on installing the tire chains to make for a quick installation in inclement weather if need be. Sometimes, weather conditions will require the use of all the different modes of transportation in one trip: van without chains to almost tree line, then van with chains up to the snowcat, followed by the snowcat the remainder of the way. Thanks to a super generous donation, we also received a new pickup truck the beginning of this year, which is equipped with a V-plow. The relatively new design of the V-plow is much safer for us doing snow removal, as it forces the snow to both sides of the truck and cuts through the snow, as opposed to a traditional straight blade plow. A straight blade requires the plow to be angled to push the snow out of the way, which can dangerously force the truck sideways on the narrow summit road.

Our New Pickup Truck Leading the Way up the Auto Road During Shift Change

Each new week can require a different setup depending on the scenario. And even after all the winter preparations have been completed, a warm spell can come and put us back to square one, with pre-winter conditions and a fully bare road. Luckily, our Director of Summit Operations Rebecca Scholand and our Technology and Operations Manager Pete Gagne are no strangers to dealing with shoulder season conditions and can prepare our staff for safe trips up to the summit. All of us snow lovers on staff are hoping for snowy weather to come quick and last long, which will allow us to utilize the snowcat from base to summit, leading to less hectic shift change days with less switching around of equipment and vehicles. In a few short months though, we will be right back to shoulder season again, this time in the spring. Thanks to all of our MWO supporters, the team can ensure our scientists maintain a lifeline to the summit while keeping watch at our weather station every hour, every day, no matter the harsh conditions.

The Mount Washington Observatory Snowcat (right) and the Mount Washington Auto Road Snowcat (left) Staged at the 2-Mile Parking Lot in April 2021

Sam Robinson, Weather Observer/Engineer

Bucket List Item Checked Off!!

2021-10-26 04:46:45.000 – Matthew Addison, Weather Observer

Greetings friends, my name is Matthew Addison, the newest Night Observer/Meteorologist here at the Mount Washington Observatory. When I began my meteorology career 26 years ago while serving in the United States Air Force, I heard about Mount Washington and how it was the “Home of the Worst Weather.” Through the years, me and my colleagues would always talk about one day working for the Observatory; however, I had to put it on my “bucket list” as I decided to make the Air Force my career. Now, I am blessed to have this opportunity and check off this bucket list item.

I started my meteorology career after enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1995. In the early years of my Air Force career, I trained to become a weather observer and forecaster. Midway through my career, I earned my associates degree in Weather Technology and bachelor’s degree in Meteorology. At the same time, I received my Air Force Commission and became a weather officer.

Throughout my Air Force career, I had the opportunity to observe and forecast the weather across the world in such places as Africa, Norway, England, Croatia, Germany, Southwest Asia, and all over the United States. Additionally, I deployed to and led weather teams who provided specialized aviation weather support during combat operations in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Libya, and Kyrgyzstan.

After serving for 22 years, I retired from the Air Force in 2017 and began training Army Intelligence Soldiers how to use a battle planning software to identify weather impacts to military combat operations.

I’m not new to “extreme weather”; however, the weather that Mount Washington offers is very different from than the extreme weather I’ve experienced. Over the years I’ve experienced “Haboobs” (intense dust storms) in the Middle East, Hurricanes across the U.S. Gulf Coast, massive ice storms in the Midwest and severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in the south-central portions of the U.S. and in Africa. In my spare time, I enjoy chasing tornadoes and severe storms, as I enjoy taking weather photography (specifically of lightning).

I’ve only been on the summit for 5 days now and have already experienced the thickest fog I’ve ever seen with sustained winds above hurricane force. Taking an observation with winds gusting to 81 mph is something I’ll never forget (and is pretty awesome to experience). Additionally, I’ve had my first taste of winter as we received 3” of snow and even have quite a bit of glaze ice due to freezing rain. I know Mount Washington’s “Worst Weather“ has more to offer and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for me during my time here. While I’m very happy to mark this off my “bucket list”, I’m honored to have this opportunity to help facilitate Mount Washington’s ability to continue its mission of “advancing the understanding of the natural systems that create Earth’s weather and climate” and ensure the continuity of the longest continuous climate records here in North America. I’m very excited to join this team of weather professionals and begin this new chapter of my career.

Matthew Addison, Weather Observer