Mt. Washington NH Weather Blog

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An Exciting Time

Oct 28, 2011; 4:26 PM ET

It's a very exciting time to be a snow lover in the northeast, or even just a person that enjoys interesting and extreme weather. Remember how I wrote yesterday that slight change in the storm track would make a big difference in what we see on the mountain? Well, the models have trended towards that slight change and will allow Mount Washington to get in on the party instead of missing the invitation. I had a feeling that the track would trend more northerly once it hit the Gulf of Maine, but wasn't confident enough in that yesterday to state it so matter-of-factually. Oh well, hind sight is always 20-20, so they say.

The potential exists for some of those places in southern New England to see over a foot of snow in very localized areas where particular heavy bands of snow move through, and/or higher elevations. Of course, although this is an exciting storm for someone like me, it is also important to consider that this storm will also cause quite a bit of damage due to the heavy wet nature of the snowfall. This will be especially true in the places that are likely to see the heaviest snowfall, where there is still a considerable amount of foliage left on the trees.

As for Mount Washington, of course we don't have any trees to worry about, and we also won't likely see the 12+ inches that the aforementioned locations might see. I believe that we are still in for a nice moderate snowfall, with 3-6 or 4-8 inches likely. Winds will also be a big factor, with gusts over 100 mph likely early on Sunday morning. If it weren't for the fact that the strongest winds will come from a northerly direction, I think we would be seeing wind speeds even higher than that. The terrain that a northerly wind encounters does not act to accelerate the wind on Mount Washington as much as it does for west or northwest winds. I'll be able to nail down snowfall amounts much better by this time tomorrow.

If I were down in the valley right now, you better believe I would be making the drive down to western Massachusetts, where Mount Greylock resides. Mount Greylock is the tallest mountain in Mass at just shy of 3,500 feet, and has a very famous historic ski run, the Thunderbolt Trail. Considering its elevation, coupled with its position right in the core of the heaviest snowfall, I would not be surprised if up to two feet falls there. Since I am not able to make that trip, I hope that someone reading this will, and lets me know how it turns out!

I will leave you today with a quick picture I took after the fog cleared off this afternoon. This picture shows Wildcat Ski Area, just across the valley from Mount Washington. There is a nice coat of white on the upper half of the mountain, but not enough to ski...yet.

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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About This Blog

Brian Clark
This weather blog from the top of Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, "Home of the World's Worst Weather", is delivered by Brian Clark of AccuWeather.com.

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