Mt. Washington, NH (was Message for NH Planner or others)

[Jason Cleghorn]

Message for NH Planner or others

What meteorological factors make Mt. Washington, NH so windy and cold. I saw where yesterday the temp was -34 and the wind chill close to -100 with winds gusting to 107 MPH. Is it in some sort of mountain pass where the winds are vectored that way. Those are almost conditions that one might see on other planets

 

[SGB]

Check out the Mount Washington Observatory web site.

"Mount Washington presents the most severe combinations of wind, cold, icing and storminess available anywhere in the world where people are on hand to take measurements. The summit lies in the path of the principal storm tracks and air mass routes affecting the northeastern United States, and it is, because of its elevation, biologically and ecologically similar to the subarctic zone."

 

[NHPlanner]

Stu beat me to replying. The Mt. Washington website is what I would have sent you to.

 

[PlannerGirl]

The other cold place-and its int he SOUTH!

Mt Mitchell NC the highest point East of the Mississippi
1985 34 below

Conditions on Mitchell are challenging to say the least. Snow storms have struck this mountain in every month of the year, with an average annual snowfall of 104 inches. Temperatures are similar to readings in parts of southern Canada. The record low is -34°, and winter wind speeds commonly exceed 100 miles per hour on the mountain’s western face. This harsh climate plays an important role in shaping the boreal forest on Mitchell, which near the summit is composed primarily of red spruce and Fraser fir, in an ecosystem more common in far northern latitudes.
Spring arrives late here; freezing temperatures have been noted in late June. The temperature has never been recorded over 81°F. Yet summer is a beautiful, if brief, time in the Black Mountains. Because the growing season here is just over 3 months, nearly all the wildflowers bloom at the peak of summer. In areas near sea level, turtleheads bloom in early fall, but hastily explode into color here in July to avoid the killing frosts of September.

 

[NHPlanner]

An idea what it's like on a calm weather day at the Mt. Washington summit....

The Cog on the way back to the base....

A shot of Mt. Washington from Conway, NH (March 2002)

 

[peter lowitt]

Mt Washington is balmy today

According to the Channel 4 Meterologist Mt Washington recorded a balmy 15 degrees this morning, up from a negative 12 or so yesterday. The reason, its so high up the jet stream carrying warmer air into the region effects them first. Go figure.

 

[PlannerGirl]

that is truely breathtaking

i never made it to the top of Mt Mitchell-the weather was always crapy when i tried :-(

 

[NHPlanner]

that is truely breathtaking

i never made it to the top of Mt Mitchell-the weather was always crapy when i tried :-(

Personally, I've never gone to the summit of Mt. Washington either...my wife has, and wants to go up this summer....you can drive up the auto road...

 

[SGB]

I climbed Mt. Mitchell in July '87.

We had a beatiful day for it, and thoroughly enjoyed a much needed nap on the summit, IIRC.

 

[SGB]

Personally, I've never gone to the summit of Mt. Washington either...my wife has, and wants to go up this summer....you can drive up the auto road...

Just don't put one of those GD bumper stickers on your car. I've always hated those.....

 

[NHPlanner]

Just don't put one of those GD bumper stickers on your car. I've always hated those.....

Not a chance....I'm a native....only the tourists buy those stupid things

 

[Jason Cleghorn]

Thanks for all of the replies

The place looks amazing. The kicker of it all for me is that it is only 6288 feet tall.

 

[NHPlanner]

There are just way too many good photos on the website....and I love sharing NH with people.

 

[Jeff]

They do the bike race up there every year too....maybe one of these years I'll do it.

 

[donk]

get your entry form in early, or at least on time it is by lottery, except for some VIP's.

 

[Greenescapist]

Re: Mt. Washington

I've hiked up Mt. Washington a few times and have always heard that the reason why the weather is so severe up there is because the summit of that mountain lies right in the same area of the confluence of three major air currents. So, when the winds blow, things can get a little crazy.

Last summer I hiked up there, it was 82 degrees at the base in Pinkham Notch. It was a beautiful sunny day until we reached one mile from the summit, then we had blowing ice, thick fog and intermittent rain. Not so pleasant, but when you hike back down into the beautiful weather, it feels like a great accomplishment!

 

[Chet]

Mount Washington. Is that a place or what Martha did to George?








Badda - Bing!

 

[PlannerGirl]

*smacks bturk in the head*

knock that off! sheesh.

I cant find any good picks from Mt Mitchell, i donno if folks are up there year round or not. Sounds like Mt Washington is a hellish place to live in the winter.

 

[donk]

Here is a photo from the top of Mt. Mitchell.

and

Sure looks nice. the highest peak in NB is Mt Carleton at 2690 metres (about 7500 ft)

EDIT - Seems to be a problem showing up on my computer. Sorry.

Moderator Edit (NHPlanner): First pic fixed....the second one is on geocities, which doesn't allow for pics displayed on remote sites. Here's a link though... http://www.geocities.com/aprince27/mitchell/mitchell8_nc128.jpg

 

[SW MI Planner]

Those shots of Mt Washington are beautiful. I can't even imagine seeing something like that in person. Of course, the highest point in MI is Mt. Arvon at a measly 1,979 ft. so what do I expect. At least we have lots of water!

 

[NHPlanner]

More pics....

From Wildcat Ski Area:

A couple of Cog Railway pics...

 

[Bullwinkle]

Great pictures of Mt. Washington! Everytime I was in that part of the state, the top of the mountain was in the clouds and I didn't want to spend the $ to drive - it's a toll road - or take the cog railroad and be stuck in a fog bank. I never took the time to hike up, either. Now that I'm 3,000 miles away, I'm kicking myself for not doing it.

How's the skiing in Tuckerman's Ravine? I never made the time for that either.

 

[NHPlanner]

Great pictures of Mt. Washington! Everytime I was in that part of the state, the top of the mountain was in the clouds and I didn't want to spend the $ to drive - it's a toll road - or take the cog railroad and be stuck in a fog bank. I never took the time to hike up, either. Now that I'm 3,000 miles away, I'm kicking myself for not doing it.

How's the skiing in Tuckerman's Ravine? I never made the time for that either.

I'm not a skiier, but if you don't mind the hike up to the ravine in the spring (no winter skiing because of avalanche danger) I hear it's very good skiing.