Historical Posts Archives - Page 25 of 378 - Mount Washington Observatory

February 2019

An Account of the 148 mph Storm

2019-02-10 09:14:33.000 – Thomas Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

The past 36 hours on the summit were an amazing show of the power of nature, and one that I’ll personally remember for a lifetime. Winds topped 148 mph at approximately 6:50 AM on February 9^th, 2019, shattering my previous personal record of 133 mph! The storm was by far the most impressive wind event I’ve witnessed in my 6 years on the summit, here’s some more details on what it was like to be up here during the storm.

Surprisingly, I slept very well despite the fact that winds were sustained over 100 mph gusting frequently to 120 mph during the predawn hours. The westerly direction of the wind, combined with our 3 foot thick concrete walls, helped to really dampen the sound of the wind. It was a noticeable hum for sure, but downstairs (roughly 5 feet underground) the wind honestly didn’t sound too different from other storms I’ve been here for. Once I awoke and headed upstairs it became much more apparent just how windy it already was.

I was on duty for the morning observations (5:45 AM-10:45 AM) and arrived in the office to relieve night observer Ryan Knapp. We went over how the icing conditions were, and to my surprise they weren’t so bad (roughly an inch per hour). Due to the incredible force of the wind climbing into the top of the parapet was not necessary, rime could be blasted off the tower with just a small rattle at the base of each post on top of the tower. This was an immense relief, as it meant I could be mostly sheltered from the full force of the winds while deicing. It still wasn’t a walk in the park though!

For the 6:45 AM observation I headed to the top of the tower to deice once more. We attempt to keep a few communications antennas mostly ice free in addition to the anemometers, and I hadn’t gotten a chance to knock ice off the north facing antenna: the one directly into the wind. Even though I was sheltered from shoulder height down, the force and sound of the wind was incredible, as it was now gusting in excess of 140 mph at times. It took nearly all of my strength to hold the rubber mallet steady and not have it fly out of my hands as I lightly tapped the antenna and watched the ice blast by. After things were finally clear I headed back inside to submit the observation data. Shortly after being safely back inside we hit our peak of 148 mph! Taylor and Chloe were nearly jumping up and down with excitement, as this was a new personal high for all of us and a little above even what we hoped to witness.

This really was an incredible event and puts how special this place is into perspective. Being here for nearly 150 mph winds, I still can’t really fathom the power of a 231 mph gust and what it must have been like for the weather observers that fateful day. The windows here were flexing back and forth during the worst of the storm, almost as if they had a heartbeat of their own. I would start getting very uneasy about being near any windows up here in winds above 160 mph or so, and I’m sure we’d start seeing at least minor damage to the building in winds that high. To be able to accurately measure a wind of that magnitude is nothing short of amazing. This storm brought me a greater respect for this place and the people that have worked up here. Thank you to all those that support our work!

Hays Chart from February 9th, 2019 with the peak gust of 148 mph. Highest 1-hour average winds were 116 mph, with a 1-minute average of 127 mph. A day we won’t soon forget!

Thomas Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

Summer 2019 Internships

2019-02-08 06:12:03.000 – Thomas Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

Although the calendar reads February and we’ve still got a lot of winter to go, it’s not too early to start thinking about the summer season! I personally started here at the Observatory as a summer intern, and it was a decision that helped shape my career today. We are accepting applications through March 5^th, so there’s only a few more weeks to go.

The summer internship can still have a taste of winter! Summer 2018 intern Simon helped de-ice the instrumentation in June.

The summer internship is an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the field of meteorology. Being able to not just study the weather from afar but also live on the summit only adds to the uniqueness of the internship. A few other tasks summer interns take part in include creating a weather forecast for the summit, radio broadcasts, and guided tours of our weather station. In addition, interns will have the opportunity to work on a research project or assist in any ongoing research taking place on the summit. On a nice summer day you will have the opportunity to get out and enjoy this beautiful place firsthand, and I’d highly recommend taking at least a short hike or two to really appreciate the mountain.

If you are interested in learning more about an internship on the summit or are thinking of applying for the summer internship coming up, now is the time! It’s an amazing opportunity, and one that you’ll remember for a lifetime. For more information please see our website at https://www.mountwashington.org/about-us/careers-and-internships/default.aspx.

Summer 2017 interns Margaret, Julia, and Elizabeth watch a great sunset to end the day.

Thomas Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

Windy Year Statistics so Far

2019-02-04 13:28:45.000 – Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist

There have been several blogs so far over the past few weeks that have been talking about how windy this winter has been compared to past winters. I pulled together some data and did some light analysis on it to see how it stacks up as well. I grabbed daily average winds and then created a Boolean where if the day had winds over 100 it was 1 and if not it was zero. I then created a running average over 365 days for the wind speed and then a 365 rolling sum for the winds over 100 mph to compare the average value and the amount of 100 mph days we have seen. The snapshot will just be from January 1^st 2000 to February 2^nd 2019.

From the entire snapshot, it is apparent that this is the most 100 mph days we have seen in a 365 day period in the last 20 years so that is super exciting! We have seen 100 mph or more on 50 of the last 365 days, the last time we had that many was back in the early 90’s! Looking at the blue average line, we do not see much of a difference though. In the late 2000’s winds were averaging a little bit higher but we have been on a gradual upward swing since 2015.

The last 20 years of wind data.

Zooming in on the last few years there even is a slight downward trend of the wind speed average. One of the things that could be a cause of so may 100+ mph days is the storm track this year. It seems that many storms are taking optimal tracks that are giving us high winds for several days in a row then high pressure builds in leading to a couple of quiet days keeping our wind speed average, well, average.

Zooming in on the last year and a half

Now breaking the data down into seasons with a rolling 90 day sum and average we can see how many hundred mph days occurred in each winter and fall season. It is interesting to note that the highest seasonal average in 2007 had only the 4^th highest about of 100 mph days in the season. It is also really cool to see that this year is already in 3^rd place in the last 20 years and we still have a bit of winter to go!

A seasonal look at wind averages vs how many days have exceeded 100 mph.

Zooming in on the last 3 years again, it is cool to see the variation in 100 mph days, especially having been up here for those three winters. 2016-2017 was slow early on but picked up in January with both January 2017 and January 2019 having 11 days reaching 100 plus. Last year the 100 mph winds were more evenly split between all the months, consistently getting 6-7 days over 100 per month. So with the 90 day rolling sum, you don’t see a peak but more of a plateau. This year has been fairly exceptional so far with 9 days over 100 in November and December then 11 in January! This month we have already seen two 100 mph days and looking ahead we will have several more chances of seeing 100 mph or more so its looking like another big month.

Zooming in to the last 3 years. The 3 X’s represent January 1st for the last 3 years. It is a good indicator that there is a small increase in the average wind!

Here is a link to the Python code I used to create these graphs

Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist

From Day to Night

2019-02-02 15:18:55.000 – Ian Bailey, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

It certainly has been an interesting shift so far. This is our first week back after our Night Observer Chris moved on from the Observatory. Obviously there is a bit of a void, as Chris is a great meteorologist who brought a lot of heart and character to our crew. You can tell that everyone misses him pretty badly, with each us of dealing with his departure differently. I mean, even several of the New Hampshire State Parks crew have come around asking if he is still here, not wanting to miss the chance to say goodbye. That speaks volumes to me, to have so many people hoping to see you and visit with you before you leave. It speaks to the man and the observer that Chris is. I can honestly say that he has become my best friend since I’ve started my new life here in New Hampshire. And while I’ll miss him greatly here at the Obs, I certainly look forward to hanging out with him in the off week!

Chris and I hanging out on Cragway on our way down from the summit.

It has not been an easy task filling in for Chris’s work, and has certainly provided me with a brand new perspective on the role of the Night Observer. There is a powerful effect in forcing your body to switch to a different sleep schedule, and it has had me disoriented a bit for the last few days as I wake up at 1pm. Adam and I have decided to split the night in half, whereas I work the first half of the night and Adam wakes up for the second. You can tell the first few days were a bit taxing for both of us, and I can imagine Chris working through the whole night on that level. It certainly is a physical and mental challenge that can be tough to work through.

There is a considerable amount of work to be done as well! On par or even greater than what might be done during the day. The day crew can split responsibilities to make sure everything gets done on time during their 12-hour stint. But the Night Observer does it all on their shift! Hourly observations, putting out a professional forecast product, filling out our many forms and records, changing all of the paper charts at midnight, checking to make sure there aren’t any errors, fielding public inquiries, deicing, troubleshooting any issues that might arise, and much more! It is a lot of responsibility for sure.

And within that, observations at night are a bit tricky as well! You have to go outside a bit earlier than you do during the day, just to wait a few minutes while your eyes adjust to the dark. Once you can “see”, then you can really start taking the observation. Cloud heights and exactly how far away you can see can be a bit more difficult to differentiate in the dark. You may have to use satellite, radar and other observation points to confirm your own observations! And honestly, it can be a bit spooky out on the deck in the dark. There are plenty of ghost stories, weird bumps in the night, etc. And while I myself haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary so far, the fear of the unknown or the dark can creep up on you a bit. Beyond that, just walking into 90 mph winds, blowing snow and freezing fog in the dark can be a bit intimidating. These are things that you don’t normally “worry” about during the day.

All of this aside, there are a lot of perks to working at night as well. Take last night for example. It was a fairly clear sky, and I could see tons of stars and constellations! Despite the elevated winds, I took a moment to sit outside and enjoy the “peace” of it, trying to identify as many constellations as I could! I even saw a shooting star! It makes me wish I had a much nicer camera for sure!

An example of how beautiful the night sky can be!

And for those who enjoy “me time”, there’s plenty of that! I can listen to whatever music I like while I’m working, without having to worry about bothering anybody sleeping downstairs. And with limited distractions, I find that I can get a ton of work done, both as the “Night Observer” and as the Education Observer. I also take a lot of pride in my work, and enjoy working at my own pace and accomplishing so many different goals each night. When I wake up the next day and Adam tells me there were little to no errors, it truly makes me happy and confirms that I am doing solid work up here.

And let’s not forget Marty! Marty and I have actually bonded a bit, believe it or not. I like to think I have a natural affinity to animals, which is why my fiancé and I have a dog, a cat, a bird, a hedgehog and a fish at home! But up until the beginning of this shift, Marty and I hadn’t really connected. Now I find that he usually saunters into the weather room just after 1 am, and he and I have “talked” a bit. Then he follows me downstairs at the end of my shift, knowing that I am going to feed him. I wonder if that’s really it….

My new buddy Marty hanging out with me in the kitchen.

Having done this work just for the last 4 nights really has given me a full, new perspective on the Night Observer role here at the Obs. It has its ups and downs, all of which I will be getting used to for the next few weeks. We are beginning to narrow down candidates to permanently fill the position for our crew, and I am interested to see how the next round of interviews go and who is stepping up to the plate! Again, I will miss Chris with all my heart and he has certainly left a special mark on the Observatory’s history. But I am excited to meet and welcome the new member of our crew with open arms, and can’t wait to make a new friend here on the summit!

Ian Bailey, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

My 5th Volunteer Trip!

2019-02-01 13:32:18.000 – Jeffrey Swanson, Summit Volunteer

This year marked my fifth volunteer trip to the MWObs weather station on the summit of Mt Washington. I have always enjoyed these trips, with each one offering a different perspective. This trip our team was locked in the clouds with wind, rain, and snow. We achieved clearing on Monday that offered our first opportunity for photographs!

A significant part of what volunteers do here is to prepare meals for the summit teams and the visiting day and overnight trips to the observatory. This years hiking groups had many tales to tell about their trip up this past week, along with other adventures all over the world. Many of the hikers believe that the New England area offers a great deal of challenge for climbers to experience, without the commercial/tourist conditions they have experienced in the western part of our country. The white out conditions and variable winds are all about the challenge that they seek in there climbing. It was great to meet them all.
Unfortunately, our volunteer trip this year will be shortened by 1 day in order to accomplish shift change ahead of the forecasted storm the summit. As always, adapting to the weather conditions, relative to schedule is a common challenge here on the summit.

I again thank The Mount Washington Observatory for another opportunity to experience “The Home of the Worlds Worst Weather”. I loved getting to meet some very interesting people, and had a bit of fun cooking too!

Looking forward to trip #6!

Jeffrey Swanson
Summit Volunteer
Ann Arbor Michigan

Jeffrey Swanson, Summit Volunteer

Oh the Places You’ll Go!

2019-01-26 15:41:37.000 – Taylor Regan, Weather Observer and Research Specialist

Each year, the American Meteorological Society hosts a conference, bringing together folks on the forefront of scientific discovery, as well as their research. It is an event that hosts thousands of like-minded scientists and weather enthusiasts, and results in providing real-time peer-to-peer feedback on some of the most innovative and novel applications of science as we currently understand it. The conference also provides resources for a variety of educational panels, short-course workshops, and a massive meeting of companies either well established, or entrepreneurial, each seeking to facilitate and advance scientific discovery and observation. Basically, it’s an awesome resource, and this year, I got to go.

For someone interested in weather, the flight in to Phoenix was perfect. I was treated to clear skies and got to see snow swaths painted across the Plains as well as the effects of river valleys and sunshine on a thin snowpack. Check out the image below!

Figure 1. Snow as seen from the plane.

Once I landed in Phoenix, there was much to do to get ready for the start of the conference. After navigating through the city to the conference center (yes, a whole center for a conference) I picked up my registration and made my way to the career fair, where I was co-staffing the Observatory booth with our Director of Research, Dr. Eric Kelsey. Dozens upon dozens of students meandered through the tables, with many stopping by our table, to learn about the unique weather and career opportunities the Observatory offers.

Figure 2. Career fair table

The next day I took part in an all-day “short-course” offering instruction and unique perspectives on the capabilities of Python and associated packages for performing machine learning and deep learning on atmospheric science data. It was a whirlwind (pun intended?) of a course that I wished went on for many days, but there was so much more to do! After the short course, it was back to the career fair, and then over to the student posters. It was extremely exciting to see former interns Sarah Thunberg and Simon Wachholz each presenting their posters, on research they undertook while interning on the summit!

Figure 3. Interns Sarah and Simon in front of Simon’s AMS poster

The next day brought the start of lectures, with so many concurrent sessions offering unbridled opportunities to sit in on some of the most intriguing research endeavors in atmospheric science and beyond. I must note here that, at this point, the true magnitude of the government shutdown really began to take shape. Unfortunately, many scheduled presenters were unable to make the conference, with some who were able to make it, unable to access their data or final presentations. I do think it is a testament to the community that co-workers and peers quickly offered to step in, and the richness of presented material was certainly profound. I just felt the need to mention that as a whole, the community missed the presence of their government-employed compatriots.

Figure 4. Packed lecture hall!

Truthfully, I wanted to be in about six places at once all throughout the conference. There was so much material and insight offered that it was hard to choose where to spend my time! That being said, I am very fortunate that I was able to attend. I learned so much and now have a whole host of new ideas on how the Observatory can extend its’ research, observation, and education branches in to the future. A big thank-you to all who made this trip possible, now that I’m back home, I look forward to sharing everything I’ve learned with my fellow observers on the Rockpile!

Taylor Regan, Weather Observer and Research Specialist

MWO Researchers Participate in 99th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting

2019-01-24 15:24:12.000 – Dr. Eric Kelsey, Director of Research

Research Specialist Observer, Taylor Regan, and I, Dr. Eric Kelsey, flew cross-country to Phoenix, Arizona for the 99th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting. AMS is the world’s largest professional society for meteorology and its membership includes operational meteorologists, National Weather Service and NOAA employees, private sector scientists and engineers, instrumentation manufacturers, university professors and researchers, college students, climatologists, astrophysicists, ecologists, biologists, and more. The annual meetings held every January attract over 4000 people from around the world each year. It is the best event to network with other researchers, instrumentation companies, government meteorologists, and students looking for internships and jobs.

For seven straight years, MWO has had a presence at the AMS Annual Meeting. I’ve attended each of the last seven meetings in my current position as MWO Director of Research and we’ve often sent observers and IT staff as well. One of our primary goals is to educate attendees about MWO, our work, and recruit students and recent graduates for internships. Our internship program is a vital pipeline for hiring future Observers. At the AMS meeting, we have a table at the Career Fair that is attended by hundreds of students. Our table is always buzzing with interest. Taylor and I spoke (with little time to breathe) about our internship program and current Night Observer job opening to well over 60 students and graduates. We were pleased with the quality of the people interested in the internships and are confident we will have a terrific applicant pool for the summer internships. Many of our interns over the last several years first met us at the AMS Career Fair.

The rest of the meeting consists of scientific research presentations (talks and posters) and the exhibitors’ hall. Taylor and I sifted through the meeting program in search for interesting talks and posters to see what other cutting edge research and meteorological activities are occurring around the world. One session I attended had talks about people studying snowpack variables, such as snow depth, snow water equivalent, and snow temperature, with similar goals and objectives as our current snowpack research. I spoke with a couple of the speakers from the City College of New York and University at Albany after the session and it led to a discussion over lunch about how we can collaborate to make our research efforts more impactful together. This case exemplifies the benefits of attending conferences and networking with others.

Not only do I attend presentations, but I also give a talk about my research each year. This year, I presented on the boundary layer research I’ve been doing to understand why the high elevations of the Northeast are warming slower than the surrounding lower elevations. I highlighted the 2016 boundary layer field project that Dr. Adriana Bailey (National Center for Atmospheric Research) and Georgia Murray (Appalachian Mountain Club) and I performed. Despite the talk being in the last session on the last day of the conference, over 50 people attended!

The AMS Annual Meeting is always intellectually stimulating and a great community of scientists studying every aspect of the atmosphere, its societal impacts, and its interactions with the rest of the Earth system. The serve as a catalyst for new collaborations and research ideas. It is vital that MWO continues to have a presence at the AMS Annual Meeting to advance our mission of research and education. Next January, we are working to send our largest contingent yet since it will be the 100th Annual Meeting and it will be in Boston (where AMS is headquartered).

Dr. Eric Kelsey, Director of Research

January Melt Out and an Impressively Windy Start to Winter

2019-01-24 13:20:44.000 – Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

Melting snow and rime ice beneath our A-frame leading to the observation deck

We’re seeing the infamous “January thaw” here on the summit today as temperatures have risen above freezing for the first time in 2019. Rain is currently falling on the summit, combined with fog to lead to very wet and unpleasant conditions outside. Our snowpack is condensing and melting quickly this morning, falling from 10 inches to 7 as of noon today. Temperatures are expected to rise into the upper 30s Fahrenheit; just a few degrees shy of a daily record. Luckily this thaw will be very brief, as temperatures are expected to fall back below freezing late this afternoon and then fall below zero this weekend, with several chances of accumulating snowfall in the days ahead.

Melting snowpack looking towards the summit sign during the early afternoon 1/24/2019. Liquid water will quickly refreeze later tonight.

More impressive than this brief thaw have been our winds so far this winter. While we haven’t surpassed the highest winds in my 6 years on the summit (141 mph), I can say this first half of the winter season has been the windiest in terms of average wind speed and number of 100+ mph days. With still one more week to go in the month of January, we’ve seen 10 days with 100+ mph winds, and 18 days with winds of hurricane force (74+ mph). Average winds for the month have been also been above average at 48 mph, and with 4 days of 120+ mph peak gusts it’s felt like an epic start to 2019 so far!

Although our average winds are highest in January at 46 mph, the summit has seen many of our strongest wind events during the second half of the winter season, or even in spring like our former world record wind of 231 mph on April 12^th, 1934. March, 1942 saw a peak gust of 180 mph, the third highest of our records. Despite the current melt out, we’ve still got a lot of winter left up here on the Rockpile, I’m hoping we haven’t peaked with our winds for the season just yet!

Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

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

First Week at the Observatory

2019-01-20 09:45:18.000 – Jay Broccolo, Summit Intern

Hello and cheers from the summit of Mount Washington!

My name is Jay Broccolo (check out my bio in the Staff section if you would like to know more about me) and this is my first communication with you all from here in the Observer Comments. This is also my first shift week as a Summit Intern at the observatory so I would like to take this opportunity to share my experience so far with all of you wonderful readers and enthusiasts.

The shift week started Wednesday morning with a ride up the auto road in the Observatory’s Snow Cat. I had never been in one, let alone ride one to the summit of a mountain known for its extreme weather. It jerked us around a bit, but all in all, it was a fairly peaceful ride. We stopped at the 4300’ Mesonet station to charge its batteries and while we were outside, I noticed how poor the visibility was becoming. I have to give credit to the operators of the snow cat. The professionalism, safety, and caution taken by them allowed us, the crew, to enjoy the ride and conversation up to the summit.

Once at the summit and all of the gear was offloaded, we packed it right back up with all the gear of the previous crew and volunteers. Conditions were quickly deteriorating with the increase in wind and the decrease in visibility so after the pertinent operations were completed, the previous crew descended down the mountain in the Snow Cat. Following the introduction, it only took a few hours to experience what the mountain is known for.

On my first day as a summit intern we experienced sustained winds of 70+ mph with a top gust of 108 mph from the west, blowing snow, freezing fog, and a steady accumulation of rime ice of around 3 inches/hr. Needless to say but, it was quite the introduction to what will be the next 4 months or so of my time at the Observatory.

On Thursday, we were fortunate enough to be under a high-pressure system. This allowed me to see my first sunrise and sunset on the summit. I have summited Mt. Washington several times and never been lucky or unlucky enough, depending on how you look at it, to see more than an eighth of a mile in any direction. I could see over 100 miles in any direction, which is truly an amazing view. I strongly encourage anyone who hasn’t experienced the sights to do so, although if you are reading this, you probably already have.

A climbing group hiked up to the summit on Friday and stayed with us over night before departing Saturday morning. They were able to experience the best of both worlds. On their hike up they endured poor visibility, fairly high winds, and cold temperatures. The next morning, they were graced with a gorgeous sunrise and fair conditions before the onset of the Nor’easter that is occurring as I write this. I’ve always been a proponent for the saying ‘You get back what you put into it.’ This group of climbers were visibly excited about what they had just accomplished and that they got an insider view of the weather station and the people who operate it. They were full of great conversation, questions, and interest. This, in turn, elevates our own enthusiasm, not that we already aren’t, but the added excitement makes the whole experience entirely more enjoyable for everyone involved.

Saturday was a doozy of a day. After the hikers began their descent, I conducted and recorded my first forecast for the observatory and I am looking forward to producing many more. This one was special though, I was fortunate enough to have a Nor’easter persist throughout much of the forecast period. For anyone not familiar with this terminology it’s essentially just a local colloquialism, but it has picked up so much traction over the years the news media and even the National Weather Service recognizes and defines the term. The reason this forecast was special to me is because I spent most of my graduate degree researching and analyzing factors that influence the development and intensification of extra-tropical cyclones over the Northeast of the US and wrote my dissertation on said topic. However, what occurs here on the summit can be vastly different from what transpires at lower elevations and at sea-level, mainly because of the orography of the White Mountains. I had to incorporate a few more parameters into my forecast. One of the goals I have here during my internship is to dive a little deeper in to mountain meteorology. Every mountain and mountain range is different in various ways which has a large impact on the dynamics of a region. Thus, understanding the orography of a region is extremely important in order to produce an accurate forecast. It can be a very intimate process between the forecaster, the orography of the forecast region, and the dynamics of the atmosphere. That being said, I am overjoyed at the opportunity. I have an amazing crew up here and will be picking their brains for their experience. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated along the way. For now, peace be the journey.

P.S. I feel like the volunteers up here this week require a special shout-out. I cannot describe the appreciation I have for everything they have done for me this week. The meals have been outstanding, the conversation meaningful, and the time together well spent! Their effort, caring attitudes, along with the friendliness, and cohesive personalities of the crew up here have made the observatory feel like a home away from home.

Jay Broccolo, Summit Intern

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