Rate the climate: Mt. Washington
Feb 9, 2018 19:05:31 GMT -5
Lommaren, antares, and 2 more like this
Post by nei on Feb 9, 2018 19:05:31 GMT -5
This winter I hope to go to Mt. Washington. Mt. Washington is the coldest place in the Northeast USA so I would like to experience it. It is a high mountain. I have been to Mt. Washington many times before but it was not really cold. It should be a very cold place in the winter. It is often very windy; which makes it feel colder. Here's a weatherbox. There are some interesting lead/lags
By far the cloudiest place in the northeast, perhaps anywhere in the lower 48 states outside of Pacific Northwest mountains. Besides the extreme gloominess, it has extreme winds; averaging about 26 mph in midsummer and 46 mph in January. More detailed stats from the Mt. Washington Obsveratory. Whitefield, New Hampshire is nearby at 319 m, 1600 m lower than Mt. Washington. So it is not as cold as Mt. Washington. Here's a chart I made of the temperature difference between Whitefield - Mt. Washington by hour and month. Darker the color, the more frequent.
But as you can see, Mt. Washington is not always colder than Whitefield! Even with 1600 m difference! Mostly during the early morning hours, less steep lapse rates, especially outside of afternoon are more common during the winter months. Whitefield isn't on the valley bottom right below the mountain; instead it's about 10 miles in a good topography for a frost hollow, so not quite ideal for measuring lapse rates. It's a good mountain valley - summit measure. The x-ticks mark every 9°F (5°C) difference between the summit and Whitefield; 9°F = 3.13°C/1 km. Dry adibatic lapse rate is a 28.2°F difference, you can see a summit - valley difference much higher than above than doesn't happen; occasionally a bit more, guessing on sunny, calm dry days, when the ground heats faster than the air can mix. Dewpoint lapse rate shows much less seasonal variabilty, and with seasonal variabilty. Seems more set by physics of the atmosphere?
and for Mt. Washington itself
Here are photos I've taken from previous visits. It was only 2°C when I was there last February; I didn't get experience it at "real winter" temperatures.
last October I was there, it 3°C and 70 km/s. Didn't bother go to the summit, but was 600 feet (200 m) below. Fogged over. Some photos I've taken it in summer
summit
you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Or do you? which way did the wind blow there? I got it wrong when I first saw it
====================
oh, rating? I give it an F for being unpleasant and potentially lethal part of the year without care. Definitely an interesting climate. You may find this silly video taken by weathermen on the mountain in January entertaining:
By far the cloudiest place in the northeast, perhaps anywhere in the lower 48 states outside of Pacific Northwest mountains. Besides the extreme gloominess, it has extreme winds; averaging about 26 mph in midsummer and 46 mph in January. More detailed stats from the Mt. Washington Obsveratory. Whitefield, New Hampshire is nearby at 319 m, 1600 m lower than Mt. Washington. So it is not as cold as Mt. Washington. Here's a chart I made of the temperature difference between Whitefield - Mt. Washington by hour and month. Darker the color, the more frequent.
But as you can see, Mt. Washington is not always colder than Whitefield! Even with 1600 m difference! Mostly during the early morning hours, less steep lapse rates, especially outside of afternoon are more common during the winter months. Whitefield isn't on the valley bottom right below the mountain; instead it's about 10 miles in a good topography for a frost hollow, so not quite ideal for measuring lapse rates. It's a good mountain valley - summit measure. The x-ticks mark every 9°F (5°C) difference between the summit and Whitefield; 9°F = 3.13°C/1 km. Dry adibatic lapse rate is a 28.2°F difference, you can see a summit - valley difference much higher than above than doesn't happen; occasionally a bit more, guessing on sunny, calm dry days, when the ground heats faster than the air can mix. Dewpoint lapse rate shows much less seasonal variabilty, and with seasonal variabilty. Seems more set by physics of the atmosphere?
and for Mt. Washington itself
Here are photos I've taken from previous visits. It was only 2°C when I was there last February; I didn't get experience it at "real winter" temperatures.
last October I was there, it 3°C and 70 km/s. Didn't bother go to the summit, but was 600 feet (200 m) below. Fogged over. Some photos I've taken it in summer
summit
you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Or do you? which way did the wind blow there? I got it wrong when I first saw it
====================
oh, rating? I give it an F for being unpleasant and potentially lethal part of the year without care. Definitely an interesting climate. You may find this silly video taken by weathermen on the mountain in January entertaining:
