News

A Look Back at the Feb. 18 Rapid Temperature Drop 2022-02-22 16:21:30.000 - Jay Broccolo, Weather Observer and Meteorologist   It was like this. The temperature was holding steady at around 38°F on Friday, Feb. 18. The station had just tied the record high temperature for the day. Winds were out of the west/southwest with sustained winds in the 70 to 90 mph range, and it was raining out. The beautiful snowpack that took all winter to build... we watched a lot of it melt away. Jackie had to trudge through a foot or so of slush to get the

Love Is in the Air...and So Are Clouds! 2022-02-14 13:37:41.000 - Sam Robinson, Weather Observer/Engineer   Today is Valentine’s Day, so I thought it would be fitting to focus on what I love most about being a weather observer… clouds! Up here on the summit, we get to view clouds almost non-stop, and it is very rare when we can report “SKC,” or “sky clear.”  Due to our unique location and elevation, and the fact that clouds are up in the sky, sometimes we are able to view clouds over 200 miles away! So in order to report “SKC,” there

Half a Year Back with the Obs 2022-02-04 10:38:08.000 - Stephen Durham, Weather Observer & Education Specialist   We are in the heart of winter at the summit, experiencing a succession of storms... Hooray! Last weekend’s nor’easter delivered a few inches of snow and wind gusts up to 118 mph. Observers are now seeing a flow of moisture streaming northeast, resulting in heavy periods of snowfall that will deliver a foot of new snow for several of the summits and neighboring valley locations. Some of the southern summits could see totals exceeding a foot, especially in areas where several heavy bands

A Highlight of My First Shift: Warmer Temps at Summit Caused by Inversion 2022-01-25 13:22:33.000 - Will Gabbert, Summit Intern   Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work and live atop Mount Washington? My longtime desire to answer this question has led me to become the observatory’s newest summit intern as of last Wednesday. Upon my arrival on the “rockpile,” I was welcomed by an enthusiastic, smart, and wonderful team, along with the Observatory’s notorious cat, Nimbus. My first few days have been much more than I ever imagined. Top experiences so far include snapping photos of

Reflections on my first year at the Mount Washington Observatory 2022-01-11 19:42:18.000 - Jackie Bellefontaine, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Last Thursday marked my first full year at Mount Washington Observatory. I joined the team as a winter intern last year and became a Weather Observer & Education Specialist in March.   The past year has been very formative for me professionally and personally, a lot of which I credit to my life at the Observatory. I’ve been exposed to so many unique experiences, from taking weather observations in harsh conditions to chatting about my work from the summit with students.

2021 By The Numbers 2022-01-05 20:22:40.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   2022 has arrived, so it is a perfect time to look back and summarize the year that was (2021 in this case). If I were to use adjectives to summarize 2021 weather conditions on the summit, they would be: warm, dry, foggy, and windy. To find out why these words were chosen, let's look back at some of the stats from last year.   Our average temperature for 2021 was 29.7°F (-1.3°C), which is 1.7°F above the 1991-2020 30-year normal for our station. This would make the

Thank You! 2021-12-27 20:18:53.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   Thank you to all the secret Santas who sent the summit crew Christmas gifts this year. I say “secret” because this year, the valley staff took inventory of who sent what then wrapped all the gifts prior to sending them up to us here on the summit. So, thank you for the candles, refrigerator notepads, pen holders, pizza stones, blender, pans, gift cards, candies, assorted teas, assorted cocoas, and darts. If there is something not listed that you might have sent, it is possible that it might not have

A Winter Outlook as Ski Season Begins in New Hampshire 2021-12-22 10:18:13.000 - Stephen Durham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   During a recent virtual reception hosted by Ski New Hampshire, I had the opportunity to present and talk with ski areas of the region about the winter we can expect in the White Mountains. With over a dozen ski areas across New Hampshire, knowing what could be ahead for our winter in terms of snow and cold is important as ever for their industry. What We’ve Seen: October was an above average month in terms of temperatures across the region, including

Inspiring Curiosity in Weather and Climate 2021-12-14 21:04:14.000 - Jacquelyn Bellefontaine, Weather Observer & Education Specialist   One of my favorite parts of the week occurs on Tuesdays at 11:15 am, when our Home of the World’s Worst Weather Live! program takes place. This free virtual classroom series was developed in 2020 as a way for young students (and any life-longer learners!) to engage with Mount Washington Observatory staff as we present on a variety of weather and climate topics.   The program was met with great enthusiasm from school systems as well as the general public, and it has

Dear Santa.... 2021-12-10 20:10:48.000 - Ryan Knapp, Weather Observer/Staff Meteorologist   Dear Santa-   Where did the year go? It seems like just yesterday I was writing to you and yet, here we are once again with me in charge of writing to you with our Observatory Christmas List. Since this will be the fifteenth time I have written to you in my (nearly) sixteen years up here, I have the process down to an exact science: 1. Hand written note mailed out to you no later than November first. 2. Email sent to you no later than Thanksgiving. 3.