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Clouds wash over Mount Katahdin's Tablelands, just a mile or so from the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail Sandy Stream Pond in Baxter State Park, with a view of Mount Katahdin. This is moose country. I have never not seen a moose at Sandy Stream Pond.

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Mount Washington Observatory

The place where meteorologists really do
have their heads in the clouds

by Eric Pinder

Where in the world can you build a snowman in June, commute from work by sled, and witness hurricane-force winds twelve months out of the year? The answer: Only at the 6288-foot-high Mount Washington Observatory, perched amongs the clouds in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. A record-breaking (and window-shattering) 231-mph gust of wind shrieked across the summit in 1934, earning the mountain its nickname: “Home of the World’s Worst Weather.”

Sunset from the Mount Washington Observatory tower. On clear days, it's possible to see the green flash at sunset.

My first encounter with Mount Washington’s winds occurred on an icy day in May, when freezing rain buried the peak under a glassy sheet of ice. Winds gusting to 80 mph nudged me across the summit like a helpless hockey puck. How could I stop before being plunged over the edge? Meteorologists at remote outposts such as Mount Washington or Antarctica have to amuse themselves somehow. Photo by Anna Porter.

Fortunately, wool gloves provided better traction than my slippery shoes. I was forced to literally claw my way back to safety.

Although places like Antarctica can have colder weather (the lowest temperature on Mount Washington was -47 degrees Fahrenheit) few places on Earth can match Mount Washington’s deadly wintry mix of freezing fog, savage wind, heavy ice, and snow. Nearly 96 inches of snow fell on the mountain in May 1997 alone! I once stumbled over a snowdrift while hiking to the summit in June. During the winter of 1968-69, Old Man Winter dumped over 566 inches of snow on the Rockpile.

Not all mountain weather is fierce or foul. When the fog lifts, those of us who live on the summit see the yellow glint of sunshine on the Atlantic Ocean. At dusk, we gaze west at the distant blue peaks of the Adirondacks, 130 miles away.

Mount Washington is a 400-million-year-old spike of metamorphic rock thrust high above the trees. Continental collisions and eons of upheaval and erosion made the mountain what it is today. During the last Ice Age, alpine glaciers carved out great ravines, such as the popular Tuckerman Ravine, which still offers terrific skiing in late spring and even summer.

The summit stage office (left) was where the world record 231-mph wind gust was recorded in 1934. Camden Cottage is on the right, with the Cog Railway separating them. Neither building still exists.

Volunteer on the summit! Visit the Observatory homepage for more information.

Remember this face. That's what a meteorologist typically looks like at Mt. Washington or the South Pole. Photo by Anna Porter Johnston. There once was a blank gray postcard for sale in the gift shop at the Mount Washington State Park. The postcard’s humorous description: “typical view on Mount Washington.” With blinding fog 300 days a year, Mount Washington gets more zero visibility days than at London’s Heathrow Airport). Throw hurricane-force winds and blowing snow into the mix, and hikers and meteorologists sometimes can barely see as far as their own feet, much less the nearest cairn. Without a good pair of goggles to protect against glare, frostbite, wind and blowing snow, they wouldn’t be able to see at all.

New! Enjoy tales of work, wit & wild weather at the Mount Washington Observatory in
Among the Clouds.

Available in paperback or eBook format. Foreword by meteorologist Mish Michaels

To learn more about the Mount Washington Observatory, click below to read:

“Into Deep Slush”
A Mount Washington EduTrip Misadventure. Deep snow
and a sudden thaw strands snocats halfway down the mountain. We should’ve brought a kayak.

“A Purr-fect Storm”
Meet Jasper, Inga and Nin, the Mount Washington Observatory weather cats.

“A Day in the Life”
What do weather observers do on the summit of New England’s highest peak?

Compare Mount Washington with Mount Katahdin
in North to Katahdin.
(See chapter 12, “A Tale of Two Mountains.”) You can also read mountaineer and Observatory life trustee Bradford Washburn’s letter to the author.

“Tying Down the Wind”
Listen to free 10-minute sample of an audiobook set largely on Mount Washington’s windy summit.

An undercast is a beautiful sight on top of Mount Washington

Need to find a gift for a meteorologist or weather aficionado? Shop for weather bumper stickers, mugs and t-shirts like this one:

Also read an interview with meteorologist Don Kent, a pioneer in radio and television forecasting.
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For additional information, pictures and the Mount Washington summit weather cam, please visit the Mount Washington Observatory homepage.

Enjoy more Mount Washington Observatory tales in these fine books: Sheep Football, North to Katahdin and Among the Clouds.


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	Text and photographs © Eric Pinder

Mount Washington Observatory

The place where meteorologists really do have their heads in the clouds

The place where meteorologists really do
have their heads in the clouds