Mount Washington Observer Comments

Thu, 20 Nov - Big Changes

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:45:44 EST

Anyone that is even somewhat familiar with Mount Washington knows that the weather can change drastically in relatively short periods of time. This has certainly been the case over the last few days. Four days ago, temperatures were in the mid 40’s and it was raining. Five days ago, the daily record high for November 15 was broken (the previous record was 45 degrees set back in 1993). However yesterday, upon arriving on the summit for the start of a new shift, my crew was greeted by temperatures just below zero with plenty of rime ice and several inches of new snow covering the summit.

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Tue, 18 Nov - Stacey's going to Hawaii

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:55:37 EST

For those of you who don’t know, I will be taking a vacation, my first since beginning my stint as Educational Observer in August of 2007. Now, some would argue that I get a vacation every other week. I beg to differ. I get my weekends every other week. One of the great advantages of working 80+ hours per week is that when you finally take your vacation, you get a whopping three weeks without work. I’ve decided to take that time to visit my mom and sister, who just so happen to live in Hilo, Hawaii. Everyone who works at the Observatory has known about this trip since July.

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Mon, 17 Nov - Casey's first week on the summit!

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:33:40 EST

Having worked with the Appalachian Mountain Club at Pinkham Notch for much of the past year, I had grown accustomed to Mount Washington being a part of daily life. I would wake up every morning and would immediately check to see what the weather on the summit was, and would constantly explain to school groups about the extreme weather found “on the rockpile.” Now, as the new Outreach Educator for the Observatory, I have been lucky enough to gain a new perspective on the mountain that had become so familiar—spending a week on the summit to shadow the observers and learn even more about Mount Washington weather.

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Sun, 16 Nov - adjusting back to the valley

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:35:29 EST

Living on the summit of Mount Washington brings many new perspectives to the rest of one's life. In many ways, it is like living on another planet, especially in the wintery months. For more than half the year, traveling to and from the summit is a strenuous activity, and it is nearly impossible at times. The climate is starkly different from the area around us, and one must hike at least a mile to see trees, lakes, ponds, or rivers up close. For days on end, we see no evidence that the world exists past the end of the deck, only a gray abyss of fog.

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Sat, 15 Nov - Rainy Days

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:08:52 EST

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. Our shift is yet again graced with

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Fri, 14 Nov - Website Changes

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:07:55 EST

As you see, we’ve made quite a few changes and upgrades to our website! We hope that you enjoy what you see. More on that in a moment.

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Wed, 12 Nov - Volunteers

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:04:55 EST

Over many years and countless trips here, whether walking, driving or riding, I've made a point of paying my respects to Lizzie Bourne. She was a 23yr. old girl from Maine who died here, within view of the summit, in 1855. It would seem such a waste of life at that age and had she listened to her elders, she most likely would never experienced the awesome power of Mt. Washington. Our arrival last Wednesday found the mountain quite calm and warm temperatures nearly breaking records. The few views we had were just as inspiring this trip as they've been in the past. Now winter's fury has returned with 70 mile winds and driving snow pointing out how fast things happen here. Through all our trips, in every season, we've grown to love this place and, unlike Lizzie, have lived to return. She paid a dear price for an incredible trip.

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Tue, 11 Nov - Average October

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:05:26 EST

According to the summit dictionary, one of the definitions for “average” is: lacking special distinction, rank, or status; commonly encountered. Some synonyms listed with “average” are: common, customary, ordinary, standard, or usual. I almost want to write to them and add one more: October. It is not that I hold anything against the month of October personally but after finishing up our monthly summary this week for the month of October, I found it to be on the whole, average.

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Mon, 10 Nov - Obscast ideas

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:31:23 EST

We have all heard it before: Which came first the chicken or the egg? A conundrum that has an infinite amount of answers depending on a person’s education, beliefs, philosophies, etc. So instead, I pose this question: Which came first, the idea for an Obscast or the music we use in an Obscast? For the uninformed, an Obscast is short for “Observatory Webcast.” These are short videos (usually about three minutes) that are produced by the observatory staff and posted to our website every Monday morning. If you are a member, all you do is sign in (or sign up) here and after you are logged in, you will have access to the nearly 100 videos we have produced on the summit over the past two years.

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Sun, 9 Nov - Changes in the Weather

Sun, 9 Nov 2008 15:33:05 EST

As Mike touched on in his comment yesterday, since Tuesday the summit has been experiencing a heat wave of sorts, at least relatively speaking. Average daily temperatures for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were 38, 41, 41, 44, and 41. Although that may not sound like a heat wave in November to most people, you have to consider how that compares to average. Those average daily temperatures are 14, 17, 17, 20, and 18 degrees above normal respectively. That’s significant. In fact, for the month of November so far, our average temperature is running a whopping 12.3 degrees above the average. Of course, a lot can and undoubtedly will change during the rest of the month.

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