Spring is Here By Alexis George Our snowpack, although still present, has slowly been dwindling over the course of this month. At the beginning of March, there was a snow depth of 27 inches at the summit. However, the combination of above-freezing temperatures and rainfall that occurred earlier this month has diminished the snowpack, with the snowpack decreasing to as low as 11 inches. While it is normal for the snowpack to start decreasing as the winter season comes to an end, the current snowpack is quite different from what it was last year. In March 2023, the maximum

A Closer Look at Lenticular Clouds By Karl Philippoff I grew up in New Jersey, and while that was great for many reasons, one of the things my home state is missing is large mountains, both to recreate in and to see from afar. Living on top of New England’s tallest mountain for 8 days at time has served to replace this something that was missing and then some! One of the attractions of living up here is to be at an excellent viewpoint to have bird’s eye view of the clouds (when we are not in fog, of course)

Meet MWOBS/MWAC Intern Laura Wilson By Laura Wilson Hi! I’m Laura Wilson, the winter intern for both the Mount Washington Observatory and the USFS Mount Washington Avalanche Center, and I am so stoked to be up here! Growing up in Maine, I’ve always had a fascination with the nearby White Mountains. It’s a dream come true to live at the summit throughout all the incredible winter conditions. During high school, I attended Gould Academy in Bethel, ME and spent a great deal of time training as a biathlete in nearby Jackson NH. My fondest memories are of foliage filled

MWOBS’ Education Team Launches Virtual Programs for the 2024 Solar Eclipse By Alex Branton We are just 9 weeks away from the Great American Eclipse of 2024, and the Mount Washington Observatory is preparing for the event by offering new education programs. This year on Monday, April 8th, all of North America will have the opportunity to view at least a partial solar eclipse. The path of total solar eclipse will pass over northern New England, while the rest of the region will experience at least a 90% obscuration of the sun by the moon. While most of the

Living in a Winter Wonderland By Tricia Hutton Hi! I’m Tricia, an intern at Mount Washington Observatory. I am just a few days into my internship at MWO and it has already exceeded all my expectations and dreams. Every day I have stated that it cannot get better than this—and day after day I am amazed. I am beyond thankful that this is just the beginning. I cannot believe I have the opportunity to come back up to the Observatory at shift change every other week through May. My first few days consisted of near-zero visibility, but I found

An Observer Reflects on 2023 By Francis Tarasiewicz 2023 will undoubtedly go down in history as a year marked by extraordinary occurrences. From prolonged periods of intense warmth pushing the planet beyond the critical 1.5°C threshold to instances of flooding, wildfires, and unexpected polar vortex intrusions, the past year was a rollercoaster of meteorological phenomena for Earth's inhabitants. At the Home of the World’s Worst Weather, where resilience in the face of extremes is a way of life, we embrace weather that tests our limits. For more than 90 years, the summit has attracted scientists positioned between thrill-seekers and

2023 by the Numbers By Ryan Knapp January has arrived, a time to not only look forward to what might occur in the coming year, but also look back and reflect on the previous year. Looking back at weather stats, I would summarize 2023 weather conditions on the summit as warm, wet (but not snowy), and foggy. To find out why I've chosen these words, let's look back at some of the stats from 2023. Our average temperature for 2023 was 30.4°F (-0.9°C), which is 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 30-year normal for our station. This would make the annual