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Mount Washington Observers
an environment less ordinary
 
Tired of Sunshine
Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 (05:18 PM)


The Observatory perched atop Mount Washington
Photo by Mike Moriarity

You would think that for those who work and live in a place that is shrouded in fog for at least part of the day 300 days out of the year, a sunny and seasonable day atop the summit would be a blessing. Not today! Sure, the summit crew can get a little antsy during those seemingly never-ending foggy spells in anticipation of a chance encounter with sunlight, but when we sit here in the middle of a sunny spell the lack of "weather" can be a drag. Don't get me wrong, though. We relish knowing that when the sun is out we can gaze out upon the distant mountains dotting the horizon. But, you see, we live up here in order to experience nature's wrath. We watch it. We study it. All in all, we enjoy it! In fact, sometimes we take it for granted. Just this week a group of students are attempting to study rime ice and the way it deposits on the summit. Anyone who knows this mountain would know that Mt. Washington is a prime location for such an experiment, and indeed if the students would have come up here about 10 days earlier they would have had more rime for their experiments than they would have known what to do with! However, the group has had nothing but sunny days thus far. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss the fog and the work it takes to keep our instruments free from the depositing rime ice!

Tim Markle - Meteorologist

Note to readers: this is the final entry from the Mount Washington Observers for POV's Borders. We hope you'll check out their previous entries, below, and browse through the other guest pages on Border Talk. Thanks for stopping by.

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Fog Seekers
Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 (02:37 AM)

Mount Washington seized another opportunity to be uncooperative...

Read this entry »


Crunchy Coffee Cups
Wednesday, Feb 25, 2004 (01:59 AM)

Dan walks out onto the deck, hears a strange noise, and pauses...

Read this entry »


Goggle-Free
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004 (03:18 AM)

Tonight has been remarkably similar to last night. Unusually low winds, snow, fog, and a powder covered deck. It's a great thing to have a calm snowfall...

Read this entry »


A Quiet Night
Saturday, Feb 21, 2004 (12:28 AM)

What a relaxing night we are having on the summit. It started with...

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Shift Change
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004 (03:01 AM)

The summit has welcomed our shift with some very nice weather. The whole day has been awesome ever since we rode up in the Snow cat Wednesday morning...

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How Lucky Are We
Wednesday, Feb 18, 2004 (01:53 AM)

Another shift week concludes as our counterparts take aim on the base of the Auto Road, where Wayne awaits, warming the snow tractor...

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Relatively Clear
Tuesday, Feb 17, 2004 (04:32 PM)

A relatively clear morning quickly gave way to an advancing layer of cirrostratus clouds. By late morning the clouds had completely covered the sky. That is when the sky got a little bit interesting...

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Cloud Free
Sunday, Feb 15, 2004 (04:41 PM)

Today, in stark contrast to the days past, was one of the most cloud free days the summit has seen in a long time...

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25 Below Zero
Sunday, Feb 15, 2004 (03:06 AM)

Initially, I wanted to start tonight's comment by saying, "West winds have scoured the summit for the past two days." That would be a fine opening sentence if there was actually something to scour...

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Four Days, 10 Minutes of Sunshine
Saturday, Feb 14, 2004 (03:17 PM)

The current summit crew has now been stationed at the observatory for four days. Since the beginning of the shift there has been only 10 minutes of sunshine recorded. Morale and motivation are starting to run low...

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UFO over Mount Washington!
Saturday, Feb 14, 2004 (02:20 AM)

Having seen the movie "Independence Day," you may be familiar with the scene when Will Smith casually turns his head and realizes a gigantic UFO is hovering over Los Angeles...

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Catch a Snowflake
Friday, Feb 13, 2004 (02:40 AM)

For those of you who enjoy observing the weather at home, make sure to equip yourself with one of our favorite tools, which is a black felt board...

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It's cold and windy. Wish you were here.
Wednesday, Feb 11, 2004 (05:01 PM)

The Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, where we're writing from, may not technically have the worst weather in the world. There could be a place on earth where the wind gusts higher than 231 miles per hour, where temperatures fall to lower levels, and where storms and icy conditions are more severe; it's just that no one has ever stuck around such a place long enough to confirm the facts...

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Past Entries
02/11 It's cold and windy. Wish you were here.
02/13 Catch a Snowflake
02/14 UFO over Mount Washington!
02/14 Four Days, 10 Minutes of Sunshine
02/15 25 Below Zero
02/15 Cloud Free
02/17 Relatively Clear
02/18 How Lucky Are We
02/19 Shift Change
02/21 A Quiet Night
02/22 Goggle-Free
02/25 Crunchy Coffee Cups
02/26 Fog Seekers
02/26 Tired of Sunshine