137 mph on Mt. Washington
And you thought it was cold and windy here overnight? You shoulda been at the 6,280-foot summit of Mt. Washington, in New Hampshire's Presidential Range yesterday. Here's the blog entry from the Mt. Washington Observatory:
Whenever windy weather dominates the headlines during the evening news programs you know that it was a good day on the summit! Indeed, it was one of those days that will be talked about for a while, or at least until the next big wind maker. The day began very tranquil with temperatures in the lower 30s, overcast skies, and an increasing southwesterly wind. However, my walk to the precipitation can just after sunrise would tell of what was to come. Faint sunshine over Maine made visible a line of low clouds as black as midnight hanging over the western horizon. Rain moved in around 8:30am and changed to snow shortly after as the fringes of the dome of arctic air nudged toward the summit. It was just after 10 o’clock that things got interesting…
Brian was heading out to check for snow drifts around the fire exit doors when the fog lit up around him and the silence of the summit was shattered by a deafening bang. A bolt of lightning hit the Cog tracks a mere eighth of a mile away. Realizing that he was standing on a metal grate under the Observatory’s tower, Brian quickly came to the conclusion that this may not be the safest location on the summit at that moment. He ran for the door and was back in the weather room in seconds flat.
That brief thunderstorm ushered in the arctic air and wind. Temperatures quickly plummeted to around 0 degrees as the sustained wind speed jumped to 80 mph, then 100 mph with higher gusts. Brian and Dan took advantage of a sustained wind speed just over 100 mph with hardly any gusts, not to mention an observation deck still free of rime ice, to attempt the famous walk around the deck know as the Century Club. Seven minutes later they became the newest inductees! Shortly after they were back in the confines of the weather room the sustained wind speed increased to 125 mph with a peak gust of 137 mph!
The excitement of the storm is beginning to diminish along with the winds. The winds are still strong, averaging 75 mph with gusts close to 100 mph. However these values seem rather ho-hum next to what was witnessed only hours ago. The temperature still continues to drop, and will do so through Sunday morning, before the core of arctic air slides offshore. Right now the temperature reads -12 degrees and should drop to between -25 and -30 before rebounding late on Sunday. Wind chill values are around -50 degrees, and will continue to fall as the hurricane-force winds continue and the temperatures drop. Travel above treeline is still not recommended through the remainder of the weekend!
Interesting fact about yesterday’s whacky weather: The summit broke the old record high of 33 degrees set in 1984 with a reading of 34 degrees. Crazy!
Tim Markle - Chief Observer
To explore the observatory's Web site, click here.
Categories: Winter weather
