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On the Etymology of Cloud Names 2021-02-16 07:16:46.000 - Nate Iannuccillo, Weather Observer/Education Specialist    This past weekend we got to observe an abundance of high clouds in the sky, with a thin layer of cirrostratus lingering for much of the weekend. This cloud layer helped produce a halo around the sun during the daytime hours on both Saturday and Sunday. While this appears to the observer as a thin veil that lingers high in the atmosphere, cirrostratus can be cherished for the array of optical effects it may produce, some examples including sun dogs and the aforementioned halo.  Halo viewed

Winter's Comeback 2021-02-09 14:13:00.000 - Sam Robinson, Weather Observer/Engineer   Just a few weeks back at the beginning of January, the ground was mostly bare at the base of the mountain and at our North Conway weather station, the monthly average temperature was 7 degrees warmer than normal. The warm start to winter was also felt at the summit, where temperatures had steadily run 5 to almost 20 degrees above normal for the first half of the month, and only 5 days below normal occurred during the latter half. Cold, winter air was nowhere to be found. It seemed to

Nights on the Summit 2021-02-01 22:13:58.000 - David DeCou, Night Observer   Good evening from the summit of Mount Washington! This is David DeCou, writing to you live as we approach the end of another exciting shift on the Rockpile. After a really mild start to January, this last week we experienced the coldest temperatures of the season so far, with a nor’easter on the way. I had almost forgotten what a wind chill of 50 degrees below zero feels like! However, with tonight’s storm I am glad to have the cold air around. During a snow storm earlier this

An Intern in the Wind 2021-01-25 14:16:48.000 - Jackie Bellefontaine, Summit Intern   Growing up, I had a Guinness World Record book that featured Mount Washington’s record for fastest wind recorded by man — an astonishing 231 mph gust which occurred on April 12th, 1934. I could not wrap my head around what such an extreme wind could possibly feel like, I had never felt a gust stronger than 50 mph. Well now as a summit intern at Mount Washington, I was finally able to get a taste of the powerful winds I had heard so much about!   This

Preparing for Winter Conditions 2021-01-20 09:11:35.000 - Jay Broccolo, Weather Observer and Meteorologist   Preparing for any kind of outdoor activity involves forethought and research, and that is especially true in the winter. In this piece, we are going to discuss why it is imperative to be prepared, how to prepare for time spent outdoors in the winter elements, and a little bit on what we do to prepare. The Mount Washington Observatory (MWObs) is supported by not only our wonderful members, but also by our partners over at Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), and Oboz Footwear. They supply us with

2020 By The Numbers 2021-01-11 16:44:21.000 - Ryan Knapp, Observer/Staff Meteorologist   As we flipped the calendar to read 2021, it was time to look back and summarize the year that was (2020 in this case). If I were to use adjectives to summarize 2020 they would be - warm, dry, snowy, foggy, and windy. To figure out why those words were chosen, let's look back at some of the stats that made up 2020:   Our average temperature for 2020 was 29.6°F (-1.3°C) which is 2.3°F above the 1981-2010 30-year normal for our station. This would make the annual

Joining the "Watchers on the Wall" 2021-01-10 15:31:48.000 - Jackie Bellefontaine, Intern   Hi everyone, my name is Jackie Bellefontaine and I am the new Mount Washington Observatory winter intern! I grew up outside of Boston in Malden, Massachusetts but recently moved to Meredith, New Hampshire. I have always loved the New Hampshire Lakes Region and the White Mountains! I graduated from the University of Maine in 2020 with a B.S. in Earth and Climate Sciences. During my undergraduate career, I became very interested in and excited by the Earth’s climate system and extreme environments. So, interning at the Mount

Terms Used In Forecasting: Advection 2021-01-04 12:17:34.000 - Jay Broccolo, Weather Observer and Meteorologist   Hi MWObsians! It has been a while since I have written anything in this space so here is something I have been meaning to share. I plan to discuss several topics in our forecasts, specifically, the terms we use and why we use them. We generally try to use basic language in our forecast discussions, but I realize that is not always the case. Understanding these many terms and processes can be useful as they are used in forecasts by us here at the Observatory,

As The Seasons Change, So Does The Job 2020-12-28 09:45:10.000 - Nicole Tallman, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Many have asked me what it is like to live in the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather” in the dead of winter to which I respond it is like living in another world! There are many experiences that winter on Mount Washington allows you to experience that you would never get the chance to do elsewhere. The job of Weather Observer in the winter months vs summer months are quite different in many ways.     The instrument tower covered in glaze ice.  

Mt Washington Christmas in 1870 2020-12-24 05:11:39.000 - Peter Crane, Curator, Gladys Brooks Memorial Library   The following pair of extracts reflect what Christmas was like on Mt Washington way back in 1870. The entries are from the journal of the Huntington-Hitchcock Expedition, and are as they appeared in "Mount Washington in Winter," published after the winter of 1870-1871. The chapter containing these extracts was prepared by Solomon Nelson, one of the members of the expedition, who hailed from Georgetown, Massachusetts.   December 24. Yesterday afternoon and late at night, a "snow-bank" lay along the south; this forenoon snow was