News

From Texas to New Hampshire 2021-09-28 03:30:42.000 - Adam Muhith, Summit Intern   Howdy, y’all! My name is Adam Muhith and I am proud to be one of the new interns for the Fall 2021 season. I recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in environmental engineering, and I am so excited to begin my career in environmental research up here. I can’t think of a better place to do it.I’m from Houston, Texas, and this will be the first time I’ve ever spent a fall and winter out of state. I’m so excited to

First Week on the Summit! 2021-09-21 12:25:41.000 - Abigail Fitzgibbon, Summit Intern   My name is Abigail Fitzgibbon and I’m absolutely thrilled to be interning for Mount Washington Observatory on the summit this fall. Having grown up on the North Shore of Massachusetts, I’m no stranger to extreme weather. As a kid, I loved watching storms roll in, often flooding my coastal town. I just graduated from UCLA where I studied geography & environmental studies with a focus on GIS and remote sensing. While in Southern California, I got to experience some amazing hiking, backpacking, and all around good times

My First Week at 6288' 2021-09-14 23:49:45.000 - Sam Gawel, Summit Intern   My name is Sam Gawel and I am ecstatic to be up for my first week at the Mount Washington Observatory. I was born and raised in Detroit, but the White Mountains have always been a second home, as much of my family lives in or comes from the area. Just this summer, my family moved to Piermont, NH, and we couldn’t be happier for it. This has allowed me plenty of time to explore these beautiful peaks and valleys. I am a junior at Dartmouth College

Hello, Meteorological Autumn! 2021-09-08 07:01:22.000 - Jackie Bellefontaine, Weather Observer   A big warm welcome to You may be thinking, “Wait? September only just started!” well, what is known as orological autumn.tart of autumn on the calendar astronomical autumn. what is the difference between meteorological and astronomical seasons?    Earth’s rotation around the sun punctuated with rotation that define the changes between different seasons. These pointsknown as the Earth’s tilt over the equator determine the two equinoxes and two solstices. occur at the times when the sun passes directly over the equator, March 21st (ernal equinox) and aSolstices are the points when the sun each its highest or lowest point, around December w and June 21st (summer

Turning the Page for Windswept, the Bulletin of the Mount Washington Observatory 2021-08-25 07:36:19.000 - Charlie Buterbaugh, Development Coordinator & Windswept Editor   With each edition of Windswept, we gather perspectives. These connect our community through themes like Mount Washington Observatory history, life at our summit weather station, or the important meteorology and climate work carried out bravely by scientists who call this extreme environment home. Bringing these and other storylines together for the past 14 years is an instrumental member of the Observatory family, Marty Basch. Since 2007, Marty has served as the editor of our bulletin, writing and

A Cooler and Wetter July 2021 2021-08-09 16:52:13.000 - Brian Fitzgerald, Director of Science and Education   July 2021 was much wetter and cooler than normal, particularly down in North Conway where the Mount Washington Observatory operates the“NCON3” Cooperative Weather Station (more information about the station and its history can be found here). Up on the summit of Mount Washington, weather observers recorded similar conditions throughout July, but with some both obvious, and not-so-obvious differences.     Figure 1: July temperature, precipitation, and, and wind statistics at Mount Washington (KMWN) and North Conway (NCON3).   Down in North Conway, daily

The Next Chapter 2021-08-04 07:16:47.000 - David DeCou, Night Observer   It’s hard to believe that today will be my last shift change as the Night Observer at Mount Washington Observatory. After an extraordinary 17 months of incredible weather and awe-inspiring views, this last week has been a relatively ordinary one. We’ve had days of fog, rain, and gusty winds with a few sunrises and sunsets sprinkled in. We even had a brief taste of winter, with temperatures falling to around freezing combined with sustained hurricane-force winds. I may be experiencing some of these things for the last time on

Until the Next Time 2021-08-02 14:33:19.000 - Nicole Tallman, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   This Wednesday marks the end of an amazing journey working for the Mount Washington Observatory as a summit Weather Observer and Education Specialist. Through the last year plus I have had the honor to be a part of an organization that means very much to me. I began as a summer intern in 2017 and fell in love with the uniqueness of the work that MWObs was doing. I extended my stay on the summit as the fall intern and I knew upon leaving the internship that my

Summit Observer in the Valley: Seek the Peak Edition! 2021-07-27 17:37:42.000 - Jackie Bellefontaine, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Being a Weather am fortunate to be able to engage with our local White Mountaincommunity donely week at a time.  when I heard that I would be off-shift and helping to run ecstaticI was incredibly excited to see the outdoor community come together to , and I was not disappointed. with all it’s the fantastic vendors, local non-profits, live music and supporters of the  had a contaI enjoyed walking around the Expo grounds  with vendors and each other, further growing and connecting our community.e could dampen the mood! Over at the last chatting

A Dream Coming Back as Weather Observer, Come True 2021-07-19 16:12:27.000 - Stephen Durham, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   In January of 2019, it was a once in a lifetime experience interning at the Mt. Washington Observatory for two weeks straight. Since then, I had hoped to return to the observatory one day again, to experience and enjoy the thrilling and extreme weather, I get that opportunity again now as a weather observer and educational specialist.    July 2021 Sunrise   The weeks and days leading up to my first to trip to the summit were surreal and hadn’t really set