Weather of Mount Washington J. Barry O'Connell JrThesis: That Mount Washington is the most dangerous small mountain in the world. OUTLINE I. Introduction II. Size III. Death Toll
IV. Weather
VI. Snow
VII. Temperature
VIII. Clouds
IX. Contributing weather factors 1. Storm tracks 2. Winter polar jet stream 3. "Nor'easters" ~ The "worst weather in the world", said John Miler in "Summit", a respected outdoors magazine (95). The Appalachian Mountain Club in its guide to Mount Washington, offered the following cautionary note: Caution: Mount Washington has a well-earned reputation as the most dangerous small mountain in the world (2). Condition(s)... are approximately equal to the worst reported from Antarctica (3). Does Mount Washington live up to its reputation? How has a relatively small mountain in New Hampshire gained the reputation that it has? View of Mount Washington from the East. Mount Washington can be deceptive in its appearance. Mount Washington at six thousand two hundred and eighty eight (6288) Feet is the highest peak North of the Carolinas and East of the Mississippi (AMC 11). But compared to the abundance of peaks over 14,000 feet, just on this Continent alone, it is rather small. By the most direct trail it is just over four (4) miles to the top with a vertical gain of just over four thousand (4,000) feet. One thing that separates Mount Washington from the higher peaks is its death toll. More people have died climbing Mount Washington than any other Mountain in the United States (AMC 202). The last time I looked at the plaque in the base lodge was November of 1992 and the death toll was up to ninety nine (99). The majority of those people died from hypothermia because they were unprepared for the incredible changes not only possible but probable with Mount Washington weather. The AMC guide to Mount Washington includes the following on its list of necessities, "Good things to have in your pack on a summer day... rain gear, windbreaker, wool sweater(s), wool hat & mittens" (AMC XXI). "If you don't like the weather just wait a few minutes" (Wilcox 18). Mount Washington is a wonderful place to study weather because it is not unusual to witness wild variations in weather over a short period of time. There is a year round weather observatory on the summit of the mountain. It was established one hundred and twenty three (123) years ago in 1870 and it is still in use today (AMC 12). Some of the more noteworthy findings of the weather observatory include the world surface wind speed record. On April 12, 1934 the observatory clocked a wind speed of two hundred and thirty one (231) miles per hour (AMC XX). Mount Washington is a very windy place. In summer the average daily wind speed is twenty six (26) miles per hour. In wintertime the average daily wind speed increases to forty-four (44) miles per hour. (AMC XX) During the winter months hurricane force winds (75+ mph) are common. So common in fact that they blow an average of one hundred and four (104) days each year. The year round average is thirty-five (35) miles per hour (AMC 201). Gusts over one hundred miles per hour have been observed in every month of the year (AMC XX). Gusts of over one hundred and fifty miles per hour have been observed in every month from September to May (AMC 201). Mount Washington gets more than its share of snow. The first time I ever heard of Mount Washington was when I was in college back in the seventies. Friends of mine told me of a place in New Hampshire where you could ski in the summertime. The place to ski is Tuckerman Ravine. Tuckerman Ravine is a huge glacial cirque situated between two towering ridges, the cirque is referred to as the bowl, where by spring up to one hundred feet of snow accumulates (Casewit 190). It is not uncommon to see as many as five thousand: (5,000) skiers and spectators in the ravine on a nice weekend in the spring. This is rather noteworthy since it is a fairly rugged hike of over- two miles just to get to the base of the ravine and then a vertical rise of eight hundred (800) feet up the very steep face of the bowl. There is of course no transportation and no ski lifts. There is snow on the ground well into August most years and skiing is not uncommon into June. Each year Mount Washington receives an average of sixteen l16) feet of snow (Miler 95). On the Mountain snow can be encountered in any month of the year. Unwary summer hikers have set off to hike to the top dressed in shorts and shirt sleeves and ended up in snow storm before they could realize what was happening. The storms on the mountain are legendary. February twenty fourth to the twenty sixth 1926, 97.8 inches of snow fell. 49.6 of those inches fell during one twenty four (24 hour period. This set the record for the greatest amount of snow ever to fall during a twenty four hour period in the United States (AMC XX). During the winter of 1967 and 1968 forty seven (47) feet of snow fell on Mount Washington (AMC 201). The Appalachian Mountain Club guide book describes Mount Washington as "an arctic island in the midst of the Temperate Zone" (2013. The mountain averages sixty-five (65) days each year where the mean temperature is below zero (0) degrees Fahrenheit (Miler 95). The annual mean temperature for Mount Washington is twenty-seven (27) degrees Fahrenheit. The highest temperature ever recorded on the summit of Mount Washington was seventy-two (72) degrees Fahrenheit. The average temperature on the summit in the summer is fifty-two (52) degrees Fahrenheit (AMC 201). The mean temperature for the winter months on the summit is fifteen (15) degrees Fahrenheit. The record low temperature on Mount Washington is forty-six (46) degrees below zero (03 Fahrenheit (AMC XX). "The summit of Mount Washington is under cloud cover about fifty five percent (55%) of the time" (AMC XX). There is fog or cloud cover on the mountain an average of three hundred and five (3053 days a year (AMC 201). Due to the relative steepness of Mount Washington and the high winds you can often observe lenticular clouds. An interesting phenomenon I witnessed was watching a fairly rounded "normal"; looking cloud being pushed up against a ridge of Mount Washington. There was a strong wind from the west, which flattened out the cloud as it rose over the lip of the ridge forcing it into a lenticular shape. A number of factors contribute to the variety of weather that is observed at Mount Washington.
It is also thought that the mountain is buffeted by the winter polar jet stream (Wilcox 19). The area is also hit by storms caused by the maritime polar air masses. Locally these storms are called "Nor’easters" or "Northeasters" When these storms come in from the ocean you get very heavy snow falls because of the cold temperatures and the high relative humidity. Does Mount Washington really have the worst weather in the world? Probably not. I have a hunch some mountain somewhere, which has not come under the scrutiny that Mount Washington gets, may be worse. Is it the most dangerous small mountain in the world? Probably. The tens of thousands of visitors each year combined with the fact that the mountain is the highest peak in an area where the continental polar, arctic, maritime polar, and maritime tropical, air masses collide makes for a dangerous situation. Not to mention that it receives some incredible displays of the forces of nature. For weather phenomena to be noteworthy it must be noted. The existence of a weather observatory on the summit of Mount Washington must account for a lot of the hype. But then again at least ninety-nine (99) people died because they did not take this mountain seriously enough. Live View From the Summit of Mount Washington Updated every 15 minutes Current Weather Conditions on Mount Washington Mount Washington NH Weather Forecast For Further Reading: Thanks and best wishes, J. Barry O'Connell Jr. |
