Mt. Washington Snow

[awf170]

Anyone catch the webcam today to see what the summit looked like? When I left today at like 1:00 it was still cloudy and by the time I got back it was dark. They supposed to get another 1-3 inches tonight so it will probably be pretty white tomorrow too.

 

[Powderhound21]

Many people are saying 8" today at the summit. After checking radars and info, I think they're right.

 

[Greg]

http://mountwashington.org/weather/index.php

13 inches:

Observer's Comments:

08:11 PM Sun Oct 16, 2005 EDT

Today I marveled to my father via email about de-icing our weather instruments on the tower with our tool of choice – the mighty crowbar. He replied that his crowbar would make more of a splashing sound these days. While the rest of New Hampshire is still soggy, recovering from floods, we on Mt. Washington are iced in and have accumulated 13 inches of snow as of 7 pm.

It’s absolutely unreal. Had you asked me last week on one of our record-breaking hot days in October to imagine the worst winter weather possible, I wouldn’t have dreamt up the conditions we’ve experienced today. Yesterday, we predicted increased winds following the passage of a cold front. On cue, the winds shifted 180 degrees and our wind chart started dancing, a change from the low, clean line we’d seen all day. Our peak gust was 127 mph at 5:20 am this morning, and we had sustained winds of 90-100 mph for the majority of the day!

It’s tough to imagine what those conditions really mean to us. The building is constantly whistling and rumbling. The doors are sucked shut because of the difference in pressure between outdoors and inside. We wear hockey helmets when de-icing the instruments. What hasn’t been de-iced is growing 3 ft of rime, stretching its way upwind. Ice pellets scour every piece of exposed flesh and it’s easy to get lost when trying to change the precipitation can a mere 50 yards from the front door. But it’s no hardship. Maybe the low pressure has made us loopy, but this is the weather we live for.

Erin Pinney - Summit Cat

 

[Sky]

re: 13 Inches...My ski pal turned me on to the MWO webs site as my home page.

It was great last week to see the observation deck and a few folks catching the view.

Today, the cam is coated with ice...26F, 60 MPH winds...and Greg's post has the Observer's comments ond first tracks photo.

Awww Yeah!

 

[NHpowderhound]

Cannel 9 this morning said 18 inches over the weekend!
((*
*))NHPH

 

[DJAK]

03:29 PM Mon Oct 17, 2005 EDT


136 mph.

34 inches of snow.

Wow.

Looking outside it could well be February. That is not a figure of speech, it really could be.

Fins of ice 2ft tall stick up from the deck. A fall in the winds would really hurt now. I wailed a knee on one yesterday while they were still small. It hurt.

Portions of the tower have more than 3ft of solid ice on them. Deicing the instruments has been constant and utterly exhausting. My arms are jelly from swinging the crowbar. We’ll all be buff by the end of the winter at this rate. That is of course if we stop gorging on the feasts prepared by Judy Richardi in the kitchen. It seems she has kept pace with the storm baking a loaf of bread for each time the winds gusted above 120 mph, which was a lot.

There is a drift near the precip can that is gargantuan. I’ve never seen anything like it. It stands well over 10 ft tall. Stranger still is the composition of the snow. It isn’t really snow at all. It is ice pellets. Do you know how hard it is to accumulate 34” of ice pellets?? This is simply absurd. The result is a very dense pack with little “fluff” factor. There is little to no air space stored inside and tremendous water content. At the height of the storm last night we received 9.2” in 6 hours. The water equivalent was 3.84.” That just ain’t right.

I’ve always heard of crazy October storms up here. Now I’ve lived one.

Neil Lareau - Observer

 

[Powderhound21]

That is amazing. A 34" base up there right now. Sick.

 

[awf170]

That is amazing. A 34" base up there right now. Sick.

not really, it is a 10ft base on 10% of the ground and no show in the rest

 

[loafer89]

The record snowfall total for Mount Washington in October is 39.8". Perhaps a new snowfall record will be set for October.

Amazing weather, from record warmth to 34" of snow.

 

[NHpowderhound]

The following was copied from www.fosters.com

34 inches of snow atop Mount Washington beats two records


MOUNT WASHINGTON, N.H. (AP) - While most of New Hampshire continues to enjoy a warm fall, it's like the dead of winter on Mount Washington.

A weekend snowstorm on the highest peak in the Northeast set two records for October.

The 6,288-foot summit got 34 inches of snow between Saturday and Monday, beating the record for the most snowfall from a single storm in October. It also beat the record for the most snow in 24 hours in October, with 25.5 inches falling between noon Sunday and noon Monday.

"Basically, we've had white-out conditions for the last three days," weather observer David Balfrey said Tuesday morning.

He said it looks like January or February, with 12-foot drifts and tons of ice that has to be chipped off their instruments. That means climbing weather towers and smashing the ice with crowbars, hammers, "anything heavy and blunt," Balfrey said. "It's not the most scientific end of our job."

Balfrey said he and his fellow observers are confident they will beat the record for October snowfall. They are only 5 1/2 inches short of the record of 39.8 inches set in 1969 and more snow was on the way.

"We are pretty sure we'll get another four or five inches before the end of month," he said. And he is keeping his fingers crossed for a lot more.

"We definitely enjoy this kind of weather," he said. "That's what we sign up for."


((*
*))NHPH

 

[salida]

'69 was a record year... I think pinkham had something like 10 feet on the ground at one time during february or march...

 

[awf170]

 

[eatskisleep]

Is it just me or does that look skiable?

 

[riverc0il]

i find it hard to believe that pic was taken recently. it has been rainy, cloudy, and overcast since MW got any snow and that pic looks like a partly couldy blue sky. not to mention, that looks like a LOT of snow stuck instead of being blown off. also looks like a decent base as well. i know it's on their site, i wonder if it is a stock photo though.

 

[awf170]

i find it hard to believe that pic was taken recently. it has been rainy, cloudy, and overcast since MW got any snow and that pic looks like a partly couldy blue sky. not to mention, that looks like a LOT of snow stuck instead of being blown off. also looks like a decent base as well. i know it's on their site, i wonder if it is a stock photo though.

ya that doesnt look like today once i looked at it...

 

[eatskisleep]

I don't know.

See 130+ mph winds, mountain blizzards with feet on feet of snow, death defying deicing feats, and the triumph of the human spirit trough the eyes of world renowned alpine film maker Neil Lareau. Shot on location at the Mount Washington observatory, home of the world’s worst weather, this film will amaze and shock even the most hardened weather fanatics. Expert cinematography including behind the scenes footage of 12 foot snow drifts, nearly 3 feet of tower rime ice, and whiteout winds from the latest October storm. Starring, in order of appearance, Tim Markle as “the Chief”, Jim Salge as “the Ringleader”, David Balfrey as “The Dude”, Erin Pinney and Kyle Paddleford as the summit soldiers, Nin as himself, Ken Rancourt as Nin’s arch nemesis, and a supporting cast of several thousand observatory staff, volunteers, and members. A Mount Washington Observatory Production. Rated PG, coming soon to a mountain near you…

David Balfrey - Summit Film Producer

The summit crew performed an early shift change today, courtesy of a ride up on the State Park Snowcat. Leaves were still on the trees at the bottom, just past peak color in fact, but by 3000 feet there were none left on the trees, stripped in the storm’s high winds. At 3800 feet there was some snow on the road, (So does that mean snow at Wildcat???) and by 4300 feet we encountered full on winter conditions.

Hearing the reports of nearly 3 feet of snow I thought had prepared me for the sight of the snow covered summit, but I must tell you it’s amazing. There were avalanche fractures in Huntington’s Ravine. Glaze ice has encrusted everything, often to lengths of 3+ feet. The drifts are very large, already reaching the second story on the Yankee Building. A flagpole has been torn down under the weight of the ice, and I’ve NEVER seen the deck like this. And the windows and webcams…they’re both quite opaque, hidden under feet of ice!

The storm set a record for 24 hour snowfall in October, at 25.5 inches, far eclipsing the old record of 17”. Now up to 34.4 inches for the storm. There’s certainly plenty of snow. However, those wishing to climb to see it this week should be prepared for full winter conditions above tree line. Crampons and ice axe are essential, and unfortunately the snow is pretty glazed over to make skiing rather un-enjoyable. If you do make it to the summit, beware of HUGE blocks of ice that are clinging to all the towers and buildings, as if one let go, you will be flattened.

Enjoy the pics!!!

 

[eatskisleep]

Also cool photo
http://skiwildcat.com/display_image.html?id=354

 

[awf170]

I believe that there is that much snow, but there is no snow in the trees and it looks like it was already melted alot. Looks like mid-may to me.


may 11, 2005... see how much similar it looks

 

[eatskisleep]

Yep that other photo has to be the May 11th one. My photos are real though...or so I hope.

 

[riverc0il]

nice find austin, definitely a last year pic from the look and angle of that follow up.

eatskisleep- killer shot of MW from wildcat, thanks for posting. i am amazed at that much coverage over that much of the summit. it really got my hopes up for some turns this weekend once the weather calms down. but as i suspected:

However, those wishing to climb to see it this week should be prepared for full winter conditions above tree line. Crampons and ice axe are essential, and unfortunately the snow is pretty glazed over to make skiing rather un-enjoyable.

glazed over snow indicates a lot of mixing, definitely not worthy of the climb even if conditions weren't full on.