Historical Posts Archives - Page 37 of 378 - Mount Washington Observatory

March 2018

Looking in the Rear View Mirror – A Summary of February, 2018

2018-03-06 21:44:41.000 – Caleb Meute, Weather Observer / Meteorologist

February was warm, but not the warmest! While scrolling through our records, it appears that three previous Februaries had higher average temperatures than 2018. That puts February, 2018 at the fourth warmest since our records began with an average temperature of 12.9°F. With that being said, this past month sure packed a punch at times as we set the monthly record high temperature on the 21^st at 48°F. The previous record was set the day before at 45°F BUT prior to that, the record high for February was 43°F which was set on February 11, 1981 and equaled on February 12, 1999.

This past month, Ryan and I (Night Observers) were not the only ones who did not see the sun. As it turned out, all of us working atop the Rockpile were in jeopardy of a vitamin D deficiency. Every day in February had the summits shrouded in fog for at least part of the day, which obscured the sunlight from view. It was not just fog that kept the summits from basking in the warmth of the sun, but also overhead cloudiness that was an issue. One of the parameters that we observe on an hourly basis is sky cover. A sky cover of 0 would indicate clear skies with no clouds in sight, whereas a sky cover of 10 would indicate overcast skies. For the month of February, our average sky cover ended up as a 9. Because of the persistent fog and cloudiness, the summits experienced only 19% of possible sunshine minutes through the month of February!

Precipitation ended up being fairly close to normal for us, as we average 6.77 inches of liquid precipitation and 40.1 inches of snow. This past February saw 6.73 inches of liquid precipitation fall as rain, freezing rain, sleet and 51.6 inches of snow. Snowfall was above normal for the month, but due to the extreme warm stretches, our snowpack was decimated across the White Mountains, and we now have only 5 inches here at the summit.

Our snowpack is about to get a substantial boost though! The potent Nor’easter is beginning to take shape off the Mid-Atlantic coastline looking to trek towards the Gulf of Maine over the next 24 hours. We are expecting upwards of 2 feet by the time the snowfall tapers at the end of the workweek. February was a bit dull per Mount Washington standards, but the way March is beginning… Well we hope it acts like a lion throughout, keeping the lambs in a herd somewhere far away from here.

Caleb Meute, Weather Observer / Meteorologist

Upcoming Storm

2018-03-04 17:33:34.000 – Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist

With this last Nor’easter back on the 2^nd of March still fresh on the minds of people, another Nor’easter is taking aim at New England. This time around, the storm is looking like it will be weaker than the last storm but it will be colder, so more areas will see accumulating snow fall. The March 2^nd storm impacted Southern New England much more then it affected our region. The maximum winds we saw only topped out at 98 mph for the storm. The center of the low was just a little too far to our south to really bring the high winds. If this storm was even just 100 miles further north, we could have seen some epic winds. Wind gusts could have topped out over 130 mph, probably getting up into the 140 mph range. So enough with what could have happened, let’s move on.

For this next storm, I will be using the GFS modeled forecast. Many of the different global and local models are starting to come into agreement so a storm is looking likely for New England. This is preliminary and be sure to regularly check your local forecast over the next few days to get the latest information. I will not be going into any snowfall totals because for a coastal storm, it is too early to be throwing out possible accumulations.

Taking a look at the weather map below for 12AM Thursday, we can see that the storm is in a very similar place as the last Nor’easter but right now the central pressure is in the 990 mb range rather than deepening down into the 970’s like the March 2^nd storm. Initially the storm will be brining rain fairly far inland as represented by the green and orange colors on the map. The low will still be strengthening as it moves into the Gulf of Maine so the rain snow line moves closer to the coast as cold air and dynamic cooling allows for precipitation to transition from rain to snow.

The image below is for 6AM on Thursday and you can see the rain/snow line nearly to the coast in Maine and getting further south.

Then for Noon on Thursday.

The low is going to stall near Maine/Canadian border on Thursday into Friday due to a blocking high up near Greenland so the unsettled weather will last in the White Mountain Region. Below is the predicted weather for Friday, around sunset, and there is still snow showing up for the Green and White Mountains.

The set up on the back is ideal for some upslope snow across higher terrain so the snow will keep piling up in the mountains even after the precipitation has ended for costal and southern valley regions. Below is a forecast sounding for the White Mountains just upstream of Mount Washington. This shows how the temperature and dew point changes as you go up in the atmosphere. In the low levels, the temperature decreases at the moist adiabatic rate all the way up to 700 mb, or about 9000’ feet in the atmosphere. When this air hits the mountains, it will force the moisture to precipitate out of it. The one thing preventing this from being a major upslope snow event is the low wind speeds in the lower levels of the atmosphere. Small changes in the intensity of the low could change that. If the storm ends up being stronger, the winds will be higher, thus forcing the moisture to precipitate out of the air mass at a higher rate, resulting in much higher snow totals.

Adam Gill, Weather Observer/IT Specialist

Summit Museum Attendant Perks

2018-03-01 12:52:13.000 – Jillian Reynolds, Summit Intern

Hey everyone! Since the Mount Washington Observatory is still accepting applicants for our Summit Museum Attendant position this upcoming summer through fall, I thought I would explain some of the perks of working in a museum up here on the tallest mountain peak in the northeastern United States.

“Extreme Mount Washington” is the name of our summit museum

I am a part-time museum attendant for the Mount Washington Observatory’s Weather Discovery Center down in North Conway Village. I also helped the summit’s museum attendant during this past summer as an Observatory intern. Working as a museum attendant includes several responsibilities (training interns, working the register, re-stocking inventory, etc.). There are also perks of the job as well!

One perk is that you will have the chance to interact with many interesting people. Whether they hiked up to the summit or took a guided tour up, these museum-goers will always have stories to tell. They will also always have questions regarding the Observatory, but it is always nice to answer them and hear them say, “Oh wow, really?!” if something you said seemed to surprise and excite them.

Another perk of working as a museum attendant is the group of individuals that you will be staying with. There will be the three observers, intern(s) (three during the summer and one during the fall), and two volunteers. It may seem unusual living with a bunch of strangers at first, but you will become very close with this group of people. After a long workday, you can look forward to a nice, big family-style meal back in the living quarters with your crew! There, everyone will be talking about everything that happened that day.

One more perk is that the interns will also assist you throughout the day, so you are not always working by yourself. This will allow you to take a lunch break, nap, explore outside for a bit, or learn more about the mountain by reading one of our books!

If you are interested in applying, here is the link: https://www.mountwashington.org/uploads/old-images/pdf/JD-SMT%20Museum%20Attendant%2018.pdf. It is an opportunity that you will not want to miss!

Jillian Reynolds, Summit Intern

Raffle – Last Call!

2018-02-27 15:24:22.000 – Mount Washington Observatory, Staff

As some of you know, Mount Washington Observatory is a private, nonprofit, member-supported institution with a mission to advance understanding of the natural systems that create Earth’s weather and climate. This means we are not funded by the federal or state government and operate independently from all the various other entities that share the summit. Our funding comes from individuals like YOU whether it is through donations, membership, Seek The Peak, or our various fundraisers we put together during the year. One such fundraiser we have going on right now is a raffle.

For the month of February, we have put together a raffle with several unique items and experiences prizes available. Prizes include:

– 2’x16′ panorama of the White Mountains from the summit

– Autographed books by Stephen King (Select from 1 of 4)

– A chance to take a private scenic flight above the White Mountains

– And more!

The first winner will have the first choice of item, the second winner will have the second choice, and so on until all the prizes are gone. Tickets are available online at www.mountwashington.org/raffle, or by calling 603-356-2137 or in-person at our Weather Discovery Center. Tickets are $10 each and all proceeds benefit the Observatory! But act NOW as ticket sales end at 11:59:59 EST February 28th with the drawing taking place March 1st, 2018.

To learn about all the prizes and additional details, head to: www.mountwashington.org/raffle/ Best of luck to all our entrants and thank you for your support!

Mount Washington Observatory, Staff

Happy Anniversary Marty!

2018-02-26 17:29:16.000 – Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist

At dinner the other night, someone asked how old Marty was and in explaining his history, I realized that we missed a milestone for him back in January – his 10 year anniversary living with us.

When I first started working here back in December 2005, the resident cat at the time was Nin. He was a white cat with a few black spots. He loved laps and snuggling with people. He would follow us around the building and summit. He knew this was his place and would walk around the rotunda soaking up his adoration from visitors in the summer. He loved the outdoors. I could gush on and on but will just shorten it to – he was awesome!

Nin

We worked together for two years however, while I was the new kid on the rockpile, he was the old timer. Nin had spent over a dozen years on the summit and was estimated to be in his upper teens by the time I was working with him (he was a few years old when he arrived with us). While he was still in excellent health we also knew he was getting up there in age and wanted him to enjoy his later years with a calmer, quieter environment. So an employee with NH State Parks stepped up to take him in when we settled on his retirement date. We decided we wanted one more Christmas with him, so the Wednesday after Christmas 2007 would be his last day on the summit. When we settled on the date, it seemed so far away at the time but it’s funny how quickly life creeps up on you and suddenly that date loomed just a few days away and I would have to say goodbye yet again to another coworker. The first two years there was a lot of turnover at the Observatory so saying goodbye was nothing new to me but through it all I knew I had one constant I could look forward to each week – Nin. So needless to say, it was difficult putting him in his carrier one last time and saying goodbye at the base.

Ryan Knapp carrying Nin in his carrier on his last day on the summit

Me carrying Nin on his last day

In January 2008 we reached out to the Conway Humane Society to see if they had any cats that would work well on the summit. Luckily one of my former coworkers was now working at the Humane Society so knew what type of cat would work well with us. We were given three choices – Sarah, Wilson, and Marty. We decided to organize the “Mount Washington Mascot Primary” and let people help in our choice. We had a bit of fun with it creating posters and a campaign video leading up the January 8, 2008 election. Marty won by a landslide tallying over 50% of the votes cast. And on Wednesday, January 16, 2008, Marty met us at the base and made his way up to his new home. (and for those wondering about Wilson and Sarah – because of the election they found homes too).

Marty arrives at the base of Mt Washington

Marty meeting me (far left) and my crewmates

When Marty first arrived, it was obvious that he was nothing like Nin. Marty was a black cat (truthfully though, when you get close to him in daylight, he has a lot of brown and auburn in the mix too). He hated laps or snuggling. He was hyper and would dart from place to place. He avoided big crowds. However, he did share one thing in common – he loved the outdoors. Other than that though, he was not what I expected. It was hard adjusting to this new cat as I had one expectation and Marty always seemed to be the opposite.

Time, however, has brought Marty closer in-line to his predecessor. In his decade of living with us, he has become more of a lap cat and snuggler. He has mellowed. He likes to follow us around. He still avoids crowds and most strangers but on occasion he struts his stuff in the rotunda in the summer. He still goes outside but only on fair weather days and more summer than winter. He likes to hang out with us or at least nap in the same area as us. Slowly he is notching his way to becoming yet another awesome summit cat I have worked with.

Marty helping Ryan Knapp record the a.m. radio shows

Marty keeping me company while recording

In my dozen plus years of working at the Observatory I have had to say goodbye to plenty of others since saying it to Nin. And I know someday I’ll have to say goodbye to Marty too. But let’s focus on the here and now as this is a happy occasion. So here’s to a decade of Marty being our little buddy and to many more years to come!

Marty catnapping last Saturday

Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist

Glaze vs. Rime … What’s the Difference?

2018-02-25 10:24:50.000 – Taylor Regan, Weather Observer

Up on the summit, we are no strangers to icing conditions. In fact, with an annual average temperature below freezing, and 2/3 of our days spent in the fog, it is arguably the most common weather phenomenon observed up here. And while the icing that we see generally takes on a spectrum of characteristics, governed by things like droplet size, temperature, wind speed, and any ongoing precipitation, it typically falls into one of two main categories: glaze vs. rime. Let’s have a look at what makes them different!

From AMS (American Meteorological Society), glaze ice is defined as “A coating of ice, generally clear and smooth, formed on exposed objects by the freezing of a film of supercooled water deposited by rain, drizzle, fog, or possibly condensed from supercooled water vapor.”

Up on the summit, heavy glazing events are some of the most challenging to combat, with rates of accretion upwards of 9 inches an hour. Glaze ice is heavy, and difficult to remove from instrumentation. Couple that with the fact that the winds are often blasting the summit at greater than hurricane force, and it quickly becomes a treacherous endeavor to leave the comfort of the weather room and venture out to de-ice the instrumentation. Below are a few images showing the removal of significant glaze on the A-frame which acts as an ice-break, as well as a view of some glaze accruing on a mounting bracket. Note how, in the second picture, the ice is so solidly packed that it is blue in the center. Glaze ice is much heavier than its counterpart rime.

From AMS, rime ice is defined as “a white or milk and opaque granular deposit of ice formed by the rapid freezing of super-cooled water drops as they impinge upon an exposed object.”

Opposed to glaze ice, rime tends to be much lighter and fluffier. Sometimes, large amounts can simply be brushed away with your hand. As the very small water droplets freeze, they are continually sculpted by the wind, giving rime structures a feathery appearance. Below are a few photos showing rime ice up on the summit, the first being a massive rime formation that built up on the summit sign, and the second being an image of the rimed-over railings on the observation deck. Pretty neat!

Taylor Regan, Weather Observer

Days of Our Lives (On the Rockpile)

2018-02-24 10:26:33.000 – Sarah Schulte, Summit Intern

I think the Mount Washington Observatory would make a decent setting for a soap opera. It has the potential for drama: a small group of people living in an icy tower teetering atop the rugged Rockpile, their passion for science raging like the hurricane-force winds around them…

Eh, I’ve never really been into soap operas. Luckily for me, the crew I work with at the summit happens to be a reasonable, interesting and friendly group of people, and even Marty has deigned to offer me the privilege of petting him once in a while (though the very occasional treat-bribing might be involved in that).

This is my third shift at the summit, and it’s been a very busy three weeks! One of the best aspects of the job is that there’s so much variety in the tasks involved. Most of our interaction with the public revolves around forecasting and displaying the freakish, fantastic weather we experience. While these are certainly among the most interesting aspects of working as an observer (or intern), there are many, many duties involved in keeping the observatory running. Even someone with limited (but growing) experience like me has a smorgasbord of activities to fill my day.

As a winter intern, I don’t have as much interaction with the public as a summer intern might, due to the Sherman-Adams building being closed to visitors. However, with the day trips and overnight trips we schedule in the winter, I have the opportunity to share what I’ve learned as an intern so far. During trips, we guide guests around the observation deck, our living quarters, the instrument tower and the rest of the Sherman-Adams building. We eat meals with the guests, share experiences and answer questions. In addition to trips, my day-to-day life can include delivering the AMC radio forecast, performing a walk-around check of the building’s systems, writing blog posts, de-icing the tower, slinging the psychrometer during manual observations, writing the afternoon forecast, publishing the afternoon forecast, delving into my own research, assisting with Facebook Live weekend events, updating weekly weather summaries…and this doesn’t include tasks involved with shift changes, which include meetings and cleanup.

Observers have even more responsibilities. Hourly manual observations can only be delivered in their entirety by an observer who’s taken and passed the certification test. During precipitation events, the precipitation can needs to be collected. There are social media platforms to update and radio shows to give. Education Specialists Tom Padham and Mike Carmon give instructional Daily Learning videos to classes and give Live from the Rockpile events from the Weather Discovery Center (stop by if you’d like to chat with them!). The night observers change out instrument recording sheets and have the added spice of performing their hourly observations at night.

While the days of our lives aren’t as gasp- and swoon-worthy as those of your favorite soap opera stars, they’re unique and full of variety and challenge (and quite a bit less scandal). “As the World Turns, connect with us on social media or in person to learn more about the Days of Our Lives. After all, you’ve only got One Life to Live!

Sarah Schulte, Summit Intern

In Search of Snow!

2018-02-23 16:19:03.000 – Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

With current snow depth reported at zero as of this writing, pretty much all of the summit staff (maybe not Marty) are wishing for some snow! Taking a very extended look out at the beginning of March it does look like there’s some hope ahead for snow lovers, at least up here on the summit of Mount Washington.

Sunrise on Thursday morning, with only patches of snow currently on the summit

In the near term, tonight snow and light mixed precipitation will fall across the higher elevations lasting into the early morning hours Saturday, with roughly an inch of snow and ice accumulation expected. A more significant system will follow quickly on the heels of the first storm. Enough cold air will be “dammed” or wedged up against the east side of the White Mountains to keep precipitation all snow initially during the day Sunday, with an eventual changeover to sleet, freezing rain, and even plain rain as precipitation tapers off around midnight.

Expected snowfall totals through Sunday night from the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine.

Beyond this things start getting trickier to forecast, and are likely to change at least slightly going forward, but with that said we’ll take a look! Prior to next Thursday high pressure will stay in control of our weather across northern New England, with no significant snow on Mount Washington outside of a flurry or two. Thursday a strong storm system will track through the western Great Lakes, pushing a moist air mass and heavy precipitation into New England by late in the day. Once again as of this model run enough cold air remains locked in place across the White Mountains for snow initially, then things get a bet more interesting.

The past few model runs have been a little more consistent in redeveloping the storm in the Gulf of Maine, where it then stalls out from Friday through Sunday, March 4^th. The cold air is marginal, especially for the lower elevations, but on the summit at this time precipitation would likely stay snow, with heavy snow Friday and Saturday becoming lighter but still not totally tapering off until potentially Monday morning (March 5^th). If this did pan out it would be a very welcome sight for us up here, with a few feet of new snow bringing our snowpack up to a more reasonable level. Here’s hoping March comes in like a lion, and gives us some much-needed snow!

Total snowfall from February 23rd through March 5th. Could we really see 3+ feet of snow on the summit?!

Image courtesy of Tropical Tidbits

Tom Padham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist

Another One For the Record Books

2018-02-21 21:37:11.000 – Caleb Meute, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist

Well the summit won’t be receiving a gold medal for this record, but we are happy to announce that we have officially set a new daily record high, set a new monthly record high for February, and have tied the meteorological winter record high! We would like to thank our friends, families, thermometers and members who have encouraged us on our journey to 48°F in February. Can you tell that I have been stuck at home and watching a lot of Olympics this past week? The previous monthly record was set all the way back on February 20, 2018 when the mercury soared to 45°F. Prior to yesterday, the high temperature record was 43°F which was set February 12, 1999. You can say goodbye to those records! You can also say goodbye to the snowpack on the summit… It is important to note that these records are based off of our 85 year dataset going back to 1932. Meteorological winter assumes the three months of December, January and February.

Today was shift change for the Observatory and New Hampshire State Parks with the crews setting out in the morning to ascend the Mount Washington Auto Road. Typically in February, the road is covered in many feet of snow and the Snowcat encounters massive drifts on the way to the summit. As you may have guessed, today was a different journey for everyone. Personally, I was not a part of the change because I am still hunkered down in Burlington, (VT) preparing myself to return next week. After speaking with my fellow Observers however, today’s issue was deep slush and mud which made the trip awfully slow-going at times.

New Hampshire State Park snowcat being followed by MWO snowcat

NHSP leading the way up slushy road conditions

It was an unseasonably warm stretch of weather throughout the White Mountains Region, and all of the eastern seaboard for that matter, with high temperature records being set all over. Here in Burlington, Vermont the mercury climbed to 69 degrees which beat the daily record by ten degrees (previous record: 59°F, 1981)! As you might imagine, this unseasonably warm and rainy stretch is creating issues across the region when it comes to flooding. Snowmelt from the mountains has combined with rainfall and ice jams to create widespread flooding. From rivers across New England down through the Ohio Valley, where a tremendous amount of rain has fallen and continues to fall; the water is raging! When one side of the country experiences record warmth, you can expect the opposite side to experience… Well the opposite. While we are setting high temperature records, areas out west are breaking record low temperatures. The culprit is many thousand feet above the surface where the jet stream is quite erratic, with a massive dipping trough out west and then a bulging ridge centered here over the eastern seaboard. This ridge has allowed the unseasonable warmth to surge northward into New England, melting Frosty’s Gang of Snowmen and sending your local snowball fight club reeling into Canada.

If you are like me, you almost put the air conditioner on today, but then you remembered that you do not even have air conditioning. If you have it, keep it off… It is about to get cold again. In fact, the temperature on the summit has fallen swiftly since the record was set earlier today and it is currently sitting below the freezing mark. Luckily Tom and Taylor were able to take advantage of the momentary T-shirt weather, but I have a feeling they will be putting their Eastern Mountain Sports Gear back on for the days to come.

Tom and Taylor in t-shirts on record February warmth day

Todays short-sleeve weather

As American Swimmer Mark Spitz said, “Life is true to form, records are meant to be broken”. Here at the Observatory, we take this to heart and we will not stop observing and recording records as they occur, cold or warm. “One of these days, we WILL take back our high wind speed record”. You can quote me on that… (Meute, 2018).

Caleb Meute, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist

Using Clouds to Predict the Future

2018-02-18 17:22:53.000 – Caleb Meute, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist

A bout with the influenza virus has kept me sidelined this week and at home in Burlington where Molly has followed me around the house sanitizing with a bottle of lysol, rubber gloves and a mask. It is an unfortunate part of shift work on Mount Washington that when someone gets sick, the rest of the crew continues on, shouldering a bigger workload. To compound matters furthermore, another virus swept through the Observatory and took Adam down as well which has made things unimaginably difficult on our shift leader, Mike. Thankfully, he did his Ron Burgundy impression, polished off the summit Conch Shell and bellowed out for past Observers to assemble, and the legendary Rebecca Scholand answered the call and is helping out until Wednesday. Thanks Becca!

When I am not working on the mountain, I am far less in tune with what is going on weather wise and frequently find myself outside in conditions I am not expecting. This is especially true this week as I have paid absolutely no attention to the weather and more attention to the inside of my eye lids and how much Dayquil and Nyquil I have left. Saturday, however, we were considering having me come back up to the summit today and I quickly felt the need to check the weather to see what I could expect in the coming days atop the Rockpile. Rather than turning the Television on or opening my laptop though, my first step was to look outside the window and analyze the clouds. Prior to becoming a Weather Observer for the Observatory, this is not a reaction that I ever would have had. With that being said, simply looking outside at the clouds can actually be a great indicator of the weather to come. What I noticed yesterday was a thick high cloud cover that seemed to lower as the day progressed. My immediate takeaway was that there was a large scale (Synoptic) feature approaching that would bring unsettled weather in the coming days. To follow this up, I opened my laptop and checked out the weather forecast models to see if I was indeed correct.

Sure enough! While it looked like here in Vermont and through most of northern New England, we would be spared from a significant snowstorm, I saw that a broad area of low pressure was going to traverse through the Mid-Atlantic States and then exit through southern New England. These low pressure systems send plenty of moisture in advance as they trek through the country. Upper level moisture is the first to arrive which is represented by high cirrus and cirrostratus clouds. This is what I was seeing yesterday when I looked outside. By no means was it a dreary day here in Burlington, Vermont but with the thickening high cloud cover it was clear that something was brewing near the region. In our forecast discussions we frequently include that “clouds will thicken and lower ahead of the approaching storm, eventually to summit level in the form of fog”. That is the way these events usually transpire for us on the summit and anywhere else for that matter ahead of an approaching storm. Upper level moisture is first displaced well in advance of the storm and as it gets closer, the increased moisture falls through the column. One way to look at it is to imagine a wedge of moisture in advance of the system, with the point of the wedge at the storms center and then the diagonal ascending in advance with the highest point marking the leading edge of the upper level moisture.

This diagram is a great depiction of how it transpires. As a warm front approaches, the warmer air mass ascends above a layer of colder and denser air. As the warm air ascends, it cools and eventually reaches its dewpoint, where it condenses into a cloud. In this image, Saint Louis and Indianapolis are closest to the storms center, while Columbus and Pittsburgh are further away and beginning to see the thickening high cloud cover. If you were in Pittsburgh, and you noticed cirrus clouds growing denser and lowering, GET THE BREAD AND MILK. Or just an umbrella…

If you are wondering how to classify these types of clouds, they are actually fairly easy to distinguish. The following picture shows cirrus clouds: These clouds are wispy high clouds (generally over 20,000 feet) and usually the first to appear ahead of an approaching system.

Next and usually coinciding with the cirrus clouds are cirrostratus clouds which are more widespread but seemingly transparent. These clouds are also found above 20,000 feet but are thicker and more sheet-like. One way to distinguish these clouds would be from the appearance of a halo around the sun or moon. As the night observer, these clouds are tough to identify sometimes because I can still see stars although they appear a bit more faint. The halo around the moon is the biggest giveaway to the presence of a high cirrostratus cloud layer.

As the cloud deck lowers furthermore we find altostratus clouds. Altostratus clouds are midlevel clouds that typically cover the whole sky. They are generally found between 6,500 and 20,000 feet and will occasionally coincide with light precipitation. A way that I distinguish these clouds is when it looks like the sun or moon is visible through frosted glass.

Finally, upon the arrival of the worst of the storm, clouds would transition to nimbostratus clouds. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the name of your favorite Wizard’s Broom from Harry Potter. These clouds are found below 10,000 feet and they are opaque and associated with widespread moderate to heavy precipitation.

Clouds can give us a wealth of knowledge on the weather to come and I find this a fascinating part of being a Weather Observer on the summit of Mount Washington.

Looking ahead, not at clouds, but instead at the weather forecasting models, the heat is about to CRANK. The monthly record high temperature for February is 43°F which was set in 1981 and tied in 1999. Tuesday and Wednesday may feature two consecutive days where highs could surpass this number as very warm air streams into the northeastern United States between an approaching system from the west and strong high pressure centered off the eastern seaboard. Current model indications show potential high temperatures Wednesday soaring to 48 degrees! WHOA, that’s a warm temperature! Relative to Mount Washington at least… In February…