On April 12, 1934, on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, history was made when the wind on the top of the Northeast's tallest peak hit 231 miles per hour.
It certainly feels like winter in New England recently. After a pretty warm start to January- a top 10 warmest-ever January in fact-we are back in the bitter cold, with (finally) some snow in the forecast. Now, we all live here in New England because we think of winter as a great adventure, right? Well, if you really want a winter adventure, then venture up 6288 feet to the top of Mt. Washington where you will find the "worst weather on Earth." Check out the video posted this week from the great folks up at the Mt Washington Observatory.
Mt Washinton, New Hampshire. 6,288 feet high. One a clear day you can see as far as 130 miles to Maine, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Quebec, and the Atlantic Ocean. The Auto Road up to the top is a scary, but wicked fun and beautiful trip. Of course, if it's a mountain, then people have to see how quickly they can walk, run, bike, and drive up to the summit. Here are the records for getting to the top according to the fine folks at the Mt Washington Auto Road
We hope everyone got through the Tropical Storm unscathed yesterday. We saw 30 to 50 mile per hour gusts in most parts of Maine and New Hampshire. The big winner though was the top of Mt Washington, where they set a new August wind speed record of 147 miles per hour!
Sure, we are in the Dog Days of summer. And yes, July in Portland was not just the hottest July ever, but the hottest MONTH ever. Despite all of that, believe it or not, there is still some snow on the ground in Northern New England.
We certainly had some wicked thunderstorms move through in the past 24 hours. Many lost power! It always looks pretty cool on top of Mt. Washington, but can you imagine watching a thunderstorm up there? The great folks at the Observatory caught a good strike on Thursday night.
Have you ever driven up Mt Washington? It's a beautiful drive--6288 feet up. If you've never done it, it's not too scary at all! Driving up usually takes about 30 minutes. BUT, if you're in a #199SubaruWRX STI with a specially fitted 600hp engine it's a lot shorter trip.
Mount Washington is home to some crazy wind and temperature records, but it's not often that you can actually see how it affects the weather here in New England.
That thick Maine accent, that big crooked grin at the end of every forecast, and that western style tie, who could forget weatherman Marty On The Mountain?
Winds were gusting to 102 MPH and the wind chill was -40°F, but that didn't stop two Mt. Washington Observatory staff members from heading out on the observation deck this week to see what it was like.