Above the Clouds: Tales from a Mt. Washington Observer

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Above the Clouds: Tales from a Mt. Washington Observer"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Off the Radar
• Host: Emily Gracey, Meteorologist at The National Weather Desk
• Episode: Above the Clouds: Tales from a Mt. Washington Observer
• Release Date: November 12, 2024

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Introduction to Mount Washington

The episode opens with a vivid description of the extreme weather conditions atop Mount Washington, New Hampshire's notorious 6,288-foot peak known for having the world's worst weather. Emily Gracey sets the stage by highlighting Mount Washington's unique position as a meteorological laboratory where diverse air masses converge, creating unprecedented weather phenomena.

Interview with Charlie Lopresti

Emily Gracey welcomes her guest, Charlie Lopresti, the chief meteorologist at CBS13 FOX23 in Portland, Maine, and a former Mount Washington Observer. Charlie shares his excitement about discussing his unique experience working on Mount Washington, a role that not many TV meteorologists can claim.

Choosing a Career in Meteorology

Charlie recounts his early fascination with storms, sparked by his upbringing on a farm in southeastern Massachusetts. Memories of significant weather events like Hurricane Gloria and major nor'easters fueled his passion for meteorology. He pursued this interest academically at Plymouth State in New Hampshire, which led to an internship and subsequently a full-time position at the Mount Washington Observatory in May 2000.

Life and Work on Mount Washington

Charlie delves into the daily responsibilities of a Mount Washington Observer, emphasizing the challenges posed by the harsh environment. Observers are tasked with maintaining 24-hour weather observations despite extreme cold and fierce winds. "When you're walking into the wind and you have 100, 120 mile per hour wind coming at you, it's hard to breathe" (22:02), Charlie explains, highlighting the physical demands of the job.

Living in the Sherman Adams Building on the summit, Charlie describes a communal living situation with bunk beds, a kitchen, and a weather office. The isolation and monotony, such as dealing with eight days of continuous fog, can be mentally taxing, but the unique experiences, like witnessing the aurora borealis or stargazing in a pristine sky, provide a rewarding balance.

Extreme Weather Experiences

Charlie shares some of his most memorable weather events, including the infamous April 12, 1934, windstorm and a particularly intense cold front in February 2002 that saw temperatures drop from 37°F to -61°F within 24 hours, accompanied by winds gusting up to 145 mph. Reflecting on these experiences, he mentions, "That's all it was. Um, it was in 2002, it was February 10th. We had a high temperature of 37 degrees, which is very warm. It was a daily record high. And a cold front came through and the temperature dropped 61 degrees." (22:02)

Mount Washington's Unique Geography

The mountain’s rounded shape contributes to its extreme winds through phenomena like the Venturi and Bernoulli effects. Charlie explains how the relocation of the observatory from the southeastern to the northwestern corner might have affected the measurement of wind speeds, potentially leading to an underestimation of the strongest gusts.

Personal Anecdotes and Challenges

Charlie recounts personal stories from his time on Mount Washington, including the presence of cats like Inga and Nin, which provided companionship in the otherwise stark environment. He also discusses the physical and mental challenges of working in such a remote location, including the constant battle against ice accumulation on instruments. "There are some fun things you can do... But the Century Club was always seemed to elude me. I could never make it." (24:40)

Historic and Ongoing Research

The Mount Washington Observatory has been a cornerstone for meteorological research since 1932, contributing significantly to our understanding of wind patterns, ice formation, and climate trends. Charlie emphasizes the importance of continuous data collection for climate studies, stating, "I think climate studies are important and when you have that Arctic outposts that's perched 6,288ft above sea level, you're going to get an important data set that you normally would not have down at sea level." (28:26)

Transition to Television Meteorology

After nearly three years on Mount Washington, Charlie transitioned to a career in television meteorology. Without a Ph.D., he found his niche in forecasting and reporting, eventually securing a position at CBS13 FOX23 in Portland, Maine. The flexibility of his TV role now allows him to stay connected to his love for the outdoors, often skiing on weekends.

Balancing Professional and Personal Life

Charlie's move back to Maine was motivated by a desire for a balanced lifestyle, allowing him to remain close to the mountains and coast. He describes how his current forecast area encompasses southern and central Maine, western Maine mountains, and the White Mountains in New Hampshire, presenting a unique forecasting challenge with diverse microclimates.

Closing Thoughts and Advocacy

Charlie wraps up by encouraging listeners to support and engage with the Mount Washington Observatory, highlighting its role in education and research. He invites people to visit their website and consider volunteering, underscoring the observatory's ongoing significance in meteorological science.

Notable Quotes:

• "When you're walking into the wind and you have 100, 120 mile per hour wind coming at you, it's hard to breathe." – Charlie Lopresti (22:02)
• "I could see for about 120 miles out my window, wow." – Charlie Lopresti (12:10)
• "I think climate studies are important and when you have that Arctic outposts that's perched 6,288ft above sea level, you're going to get an important data set that you normally would not have down at sea level." – Charlie Lopresti (28:26)

Conclusion

"Above the Clouds: Tales from a Mt. Washington Observer" offers an in-depth look into the life of a meteorologist working in one of the world's most extreme weather environments. Through Charlie Lopresti's experiences, listeners gain a greater appreciation for the dedication required to monitor and study weather patterns that have far-reaching impacts on our understanding of climate and weather forecasting.

Transcript

[A]

Imagine yourself standing atop a windswept peak, battling howling gusts that exceed 100 miles an hour. Visibility vanishes as a fierce storm rolls in, engulfing you in a world of white. The temperature plunges well below zero as ice begins to accumulate on your clothing. You're not scaling the treacherous heights of Mount Everest, but rather stand on the summit of Mount Washington, a 6,288 foot peak in the White Mountains of New Hampshire that has earned a notorious reputation as having the world's worst weather. Today we're going to find out what it's like to live and work on the summit of Mount Washington.

[B]

You feel like you're on a lunar surface up there. It's the strangest feeling. You feel like you're on a different planet.

[A]

For centuries, this unassuming mountain has been a meteorological laboratory where the collision of moist air from the Atlantic Arctic, cold fronts from Canada and warm Gulf winds from the south create a mixing bowl of extreme conditions found nowhere else on Earth. At this elevation, there are some weeks.

[B]

Where we would be in the fog for eight days at a time and the whole shift, you'd be stuck in the fog.

[A]

Scientists at the Summit Observatory have documented temperatures plummeting to a bone chilling negative 47 degrees Fahrenheit. They've measured snowfall in every month of the year and witnessed Mercury swings of 50 degrees in a matter of hours.

[B]

When you're walking into the wind and you have 100, 120 mile per hour wind coming at you, it's hard to breathe.

[A]

But Mount Washington is more than just a place of record breaking storms. The data and research conducted atop this peak have shaped our modern understanding of wind patterns, ice formation and global climate trends. The knowledge gained here aids meteorologists in predicting dangerous weather. It influences aircraft design and even helps engineers build skyscrapers that can withstand the most powerful gusts. Join us as we go off the radar with former Mount Washington weather observer Charlie Lopresti to explore the spot where future meteorologists are inspired. Where weather records are shattered, and where nature continues to teach us about the raw power of our atmosphere.

[B]

You know, when the clouds are below the summit and you see just these islands of peaks kind of poking out above the clouds, it's almost unworldly.

[A]

I'm meteorologist Emily Gracey and you're listening to off the Radar, a production of the National Weather Desk. On the show, we dig deep into topics about weather, climate, the ocean, space, and much more. Our goal is to help you better understand the weather and to love it as much as we do.

[B]

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[A]

Well, Charlie LoPresti, thanks so much for coming on the show today. You have a really interesting past and you are our chief meteorologist at our station in Portland, Maine. And really excited to talk to you about one particular past job you had as a Mount Washington Observer. That's, that's fun. I mean, that must be one of those where people think it's cool that you're a meteorologist on tv, but then they find out you actually did that, too, and that's just icing on the cake, huh?

[B]

Yeah. Well, I guess it gives you a little street credit. Yeah, no, it's, it's a great place to live and work if you're a young weather enthusiast, if you love adventure, you know, it's a great, it's a great spot to live and work when you're in your 20s as well. But my wife said, hey, hey, Charlie, I need you home for dinner. And so, you know, after a couple years living and working on top of the mountain, I'm, you know, I'm down in the valley now working at CBS 13 FOX 23 in Portland, Maine. The funny thing is, Emily, is I'm still not home for dinner because I work the evening.

[A]

Yeah, I was gonna say the hours are a little better, but they're not amazing.

[B]

Yeah, it's still rough. It's, it's a, it was a fun job up there and it's something, something I'll always remember. And yeah, I'm exc. Excited to talk to you a little bit about it today.

[A]

Cool. All right, well, let's go back to the beginning. Tell me when you decided to be a meteorologist and kind of growing up in New England and how that progressed.

[B]

Yeah, well, I grew up in southeastern Massachusetts. I used to live and work on a farm, which I love to garden these days as well. And just Remembering thunderstorms coming across the fields. I remember Hurricane Gloria, Hurricane Bob and also big nor'easters. So I knew from an early age that I had a love for storms, particularly snowstorms, and I've always had a curiosity for it. So when I had the opportunity to go to school and study meteorology, I jumped at that. I went to Plymouth State in New Hampshire and got a great education on forecasting there. And that sort of led me to working at the Mount Washington Observatory because they offered an internship program through Plymouth State. I get a chance to do a winter up on Mount Washington the winter of 1999. And I was hired on as a full time staff meteorologist in May of 2000. And I was up there for a little over two years living and working with a couple other meteorologists, some volunteers, great researchers, folks from New Hampshire State park, folks from the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Cog railway, the auto road. There's a lot happening on the summit of Mount Washington.

[A]

There is, and I think it's come to the forefront a lot more in recent years too because of technology and because of these live cameras and, and maybe social media as well, watching all the observers out there like raving the elements, trying to get readings. But you know, for people who maybe live on the west coast, can you give us a little, little brief understanding of exactly where and what Mount Washington is?

[B]

Sure, yeah. Mount Washington is located about 60 miles from the coast. It's. We live in southern Maine, but we're still relatively close, close to the Presidential range of Mount Washington. Mount Washington is most famously known for the strongest wind recorded by man on April 12, 1934. It was 231mph. The old observatory was located in the southeastern corner mountain and they record a southeast wind. And I thought, I think it's really interesting. They record a five minute average of 188 miles per hour between 12:25 and 12:30 on April 12, 1934. A five minute average wind speed average of 188 miles per hour. And they had a maximum of 121 in the afternoon of 231 miles per hour. And in the logbook there's they're stated by going out and deicing, they stated they did go out and deice prior to that and I can't imagine what that felt like. The pressure changes, even opening the door, the force on your body just trying to whack a metal chain or a metal instrument just to get the ice off. But yeah, there's some hardy folks up there. Let's See, observations have been taken up there starting in 1971, the winter of 1970. 71. The Army Corps of Engineers started, I should say the Army Signal Service started observations up there in the late 1800s. And the observatory was founded in 1932. So the world record wind happened two years after it was founded. Now, when I said it was interesting, the old observatory was on the southeastern corner of the mountain, and the mountain recorded southeast winds very accurately. If you can picture the mountains, a rounded mountain, Emily. So it's not a peak like you see, like in the Rocky Mountains. And it's the rounded feature that actually gives it some of the stronger winds due to the Venturi effect or the Bernoulli effect. And now the current observatory is located on the northwest corner of the mountain, more of where the prevailing winds are. So there's some speculation that we may be missing some of the strongest winds these days when the observatory did move from the southeast corner to the northwest corner. So the world record wind was a southeast wind. And there's some speculation now that southeast wind might be kind of scooting right up and over the current anemometer located in the northwestern corner. And that was moved in 1981.

[A]

All right, so we have a little background here on Mount Washington, its shape and where it is. It has this reputation as the worst weather in the world too, which is really interesting. Can you tell me about what your position was like? Because Mount Washington observers are doing several different things, right? You're not just walking outside into the elements and taking readings. What else are you doing when you're up there?

[B]

Yeah, great question. A lot of folks think that the observers work for the National Weather Service. There is a contract that the Mount Washington Observatory has with the National Weather Service. They've had it for a very long time. And staff meteorologists and all the meteorologists and observers that work up there, the primary responsibility is to keep 24 hours, 24 hour day weather observations for the weather service. Now, you might be asking, you know, why can't we put an automated ASOS station up there like we do at all the airports? The problem we have up there is everything is just too cold and there's too much rye mice. So all the instrumentation will ice up. We have yet to find an instrument that will not ice up up there. Even the current pitot tube, pitot tube anemometer or pitot static anemometer is heated to 400 degrees. And even that sometimes can ice up. So 24 hours a day, every hour, on the hour, the observers go out and whack ice in the wintertime off some of the instruments, including the wind vane. They record the observation, encode it in Metar and send it off to the weather service. And that's what we read as meteorologists for everyone else gets a chance to read as well. It gets coded, decoded. Other responsibilities really, it varies from important research projects. There are important air quality projects going on up there. There was some of the first lidar was tested up there in the 1960s. The first jet engines were tested up there for icing. So there's a long history of important research that goes on with icing up there. So a staff meteorologist, I was usually responsible for coordinating a lot of that. There was always a volunteer. And if folks are listening to this and they say, hey, want to go to the summit of Mount Washington? You could volunteer to go up. And usually the primary responsibility is to cook for the crew and sometimes edgy trips as well, educational trips that people can sign up for. Cooking is a big part of it. What else is going on up there? Maintenance. But yeah, this is a lot happening up there. And it's usually about a 12 hour shift shift that I used to work. Now I think they're about eight hour shifts. There might be three observers on, on staff, but I used to work a 4am shift to a 4pm shift and sometimes if I did the night shift, I'd work a 4pm shift to 4am shift. That was always a tough one.

[A]

But yeah, I was gonna say how do you get up Mount Washington at 4am in the middle of the winter?

[B]

Yeah. So one thing I left out is you actually live and work in on the summit in the Sherman Adams Building, in the observatory, which is located on the north west corner of Mount Washington State Park's Sherman Adams Building. So there are bunks, there's a living room, there's bathroom, there's kitchen, and then there's the weather office. I always said I wanted an office with a view. So that's the main reason for working up there. But you know, I could see for about 120 miles out my window, wow. But yeah, no, so. So yeah, you live and work up there. And we would work eight day shifts. We go up on, on a Wednesday and we come down the following Wednesday and then you'd have six days off. So it was kind of a cool job in that aspect as well. But when you go up on, on a Wednesday in the wintertime, you take a snow machine up. They're similar to a snow cat. You'd See grooming at some of the ski mountains. The difference, Emily, they have a cab on the back of it that would feed fit about 12 people. So folks could, you know, get a ride up and sometimes we'd walk down. Sometimes if you miss your ride, you'd have to hike up, uh, in the winter time. In the summertime you take a van up, there's an auto road that goes to the summit, um, and we would have the observatory's van just drive right up and drive down. So you'd still work eight day shifts even in the summer. So it was, it was an interesting job in that aspect where you were way a lot.

[A]

How long of a hike is that? You say miss your ride? I'm wondering how, what's the motivation here?

[B]

I've only missed it twice. Uh, but yeah, so the auto road is about eight miles long, but there are multiple hiking trails on the mountain. And a lot of your listeners here are probably saying, okay, I've been up there a bunch of times. A lot of folks here have Tuckerman Ravine. It's a great place to ski in the wintertime, the springtime especially. But yeah, there's Tuckerman Ravine, Trail, Lions Head Trail, Huntington Trail, there's on the west side there's Amanoosek Ravine, Jewel Trail, so you can hike up a lot of these are about five miles and it's a good day. It will take a. It depends how fast you hike. The auto road's about eight miles. I've only walked the auto road a couple times, but usually hiking up a designated hiking trail is a lot more enjoyable I think, than walking up the auto road, which isn't even allowed anyway just because this car is on in the summertime and the wintertime they have snow coaches that go up there as well.

[A]

I'm curious about the lifestyle and if it ever gets depressing or lonely or, you know, what's it like when you're up there? Do you ever feel stranded?

[B]

Yeah, all the above. There are some days that are awesome because, you know, you finish your shift at 4:00, it might be springtime and you grab your skis and you get to go skiing. There's, you know, there's not a lot of above tree line skiing in the northeast, but there's a great little snow field on the cone on the east side called the East Snow Fields. I used to go skiing there whenever the snow was good and the weather was good. Then you just have to hike back up. There's no lift service, of course, and then there's Tuckerman Ravine, which is a lot steeper. That's. It's down below the eastern snow fields. Hiking. We do a lot of night hiking, sometimes after our shift. So that was always fun just to kind of get out and do different things. You get a chance to see the aurora borealis a lot. That's always fun. You get a chance to stargaze and things like that that you normally wouldn't. You know, outside of areas that don't have a lot of. That have a lot of light pollution, there are some weeks where we would be in the fog for eight days at a time. In the whole shift, you'd be stuck in the fog. The odds of you actually seeing anything from the summit are against you. The summit's usually in the fog 60% of the time, so there's a very good chance you're not going to see anything from the summit of Mount Washington. You know, sometimes de icing can get a little bit repetitive and. Yeah, so there can be some depressing weeks. But. But, you know, when you're young, in your 20s, which, which I was at the time, I was always up for whatever adventure there was up there, and I generally enjoyed it and wouldn't change anything about it. It's a great place to live and work.

[A]

Those pictures are always wild to me of the fog below the observatory, and it just. It's crazy. It doesn't even look. It looks like out of this world, you know?

[B]

Yes. You're referring to the undercast, right? Clouds. Clouds. Clouds below. That's my favorite, Emily. Absolutely. You know when the clouds are below the summit and you see just these islands of peaks kind of poking out above the clouds? That's my favorite as well. It's just. It's almost unworldly. It's. So Mount Washington in the Northeast tree line is about 5,000ft. So just kind of getting a lay of the land. There's. There's nothing that grows up there. There's a little bit of grass, tundra here and there, but it's just piles of rocks everywhere. It's. You feel like you're on a lunar surface up there. It's. It's the strangest feeling. You feel like you're on a different planet. So. Yeah, when the clouds are below you and you're just on this rock pile and it's just. And. And then you get a chance to go down the valley and smell grass again and flowers. It's just. It's a. It's a very unique experience for. For the senses and. And you can Be transported to almost a different world by taking that, you know, four or five hour hike up to the summit or drive up. In the summertime, folks can drive up, you can take the stagecoaches up there's. There's actually a railroad up there, Emily. It's called the Cog Railway. If you've never seen that, that's something to see as well. So there's different means of transportation to get to the summit. In the wintertime, all of that is shut down.

[A]

Yeah. What's the season? I'm guessing the winter's a little longer than some folks might think.

[B]

Yeah. I lived and worked up there for almost three years and I've seen snow in every month of the year, including June, July, August. It happens every now and then. Yep. The snow usually doesn't start sticking until October and December, and that will take us right through May. In fact, I was just telling Emily Santum, who I work with at CBS13, we were just talking yesterday about I skied on September 12th in 2001. It's pretty rare to ski in September, but there was a snowstorm that day and it wasn't much, but it was enough that we said, okay, let's go skiing. And I skied with a friend of mine in Mount Washington State Park. And this is back before. I mean, the Internet was. I mean, the Internet was there, but it wasn't huge and nobody had cell phones or anything. So I said, yeah, I said, you know what, Bill? I think we're the first people in New England to ski this season. It was April, September 12th. And then we saw in the news that that two guys had skied at Killington like a few hours earlier. So I think we were technically the second group of skiers in 2001.

[A]

So that's interesting that you bring up that date because I was going to ask you. Clearly that means you were on Mount Washington on September 11th. What was that like? Did, did anything shut down or did life continue as usual up there?

[B]

Yeah, well, I don't think. I don't remember the mountain getting shut down, but I do remember. I remember specifically the weather that day. I mean, you remember what it looked like from the video from New York. Right. A cold front had just gone through the day before. And it was that cool, refreshing, beautiful air mass that came in. And we're waking up that morning feeling great. You could see probably about 130 miles. And then you got the news and. Yeah, so I'm not sure if the mountain shut down, but I do remember the weather that morning. There Wasn't cloud in the sky. It was a gorgeous day. So, yeah, that was a very somber part of my experience up there. Hmm.

[A]

Interesting. Okay, can you tell me about the cat? I want to hear. Is it Nimbus? Is that his name? Her name?

[B]

Yeah, there's. Gosh, there's been a. There's been a. There's been a long history of cats on the summit. First one I can think of is Inga. There's a famous picture of Inga back in the 80s that has. She has rime ice all over her fur. I don't know if you've seen that picture. It's. To this day, it's the best selling postcard that the Mount Washington Observatory has. Wow. I'll send you a picture of it. You'll love it. But poor Ingo was left in. It's an enclosed tower and there was a little bit of rhyme ice that day. And she, she just, she probably wasn't happy she got stuck in there. She probably snuck her way through. But yeah, when I was up there, there was a cat named Nin. Nin was a white and black cat. Nin kind of ruled. Ruled the whole observatory. Periodically she'd go outside and it'd be funny to see the tourists. When Taurus actually thought she was a goat, I thought that was funny. We put it in the logbook at the time.

[A]

How, how large was this cat?

[B]

Yeah, it's. It's bizarre. You never know what you're going to get from Taurus. But. But yeah, Nin was our cat and that was one of my responsibilities as, as shift leader was to feed the cat every day. And Nimbus. Yep, that's. I'm not even sure. Nimbus must be the newest cat. There was Marty, that was the cat that recently passed, I believe. But yeah, there's always a cat up there.

[A]

I didn't know if they were all Nimbus and it was just like this was Nimbus 15.

[B]

No, no, no, it's. It's turning into a thing now. There's a great shelter in the valley, the Conway Area Humane Society, and I think they've, they've picked up some cats from, from them over the years. We actually get what our first dog years ago we got from the Conway era Humane Society. Great, great organization there. But yeah, no, it's. There's always cats up there and you know, there are mice. That's the real reason there are cats up there. But it's also. Everybody likes having a pet. Yeah.

[A]

I was gonna say it probably helped you know, just like, almost like a therapy pet for those who don't have family around.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What's the craziest thing you. Or some of the craziest things if you've ever seen while working up there or experienced?

[B]

Well, weather wise, that's an easy one for me. And it's a simple cold front. That's all it was. Um, it was in 2002, it was February 10th. We had a high temperature of 37 degrees, which is very warm. It was a daily record high. And a cold front came through and the temperature dropped 61 degrees. It got down to 24 degrees below zero in 24 hours. So. And the wind jumped up to 145 miles per hour too. So that was the strongest wind I had the opportunity to record. And I was on the tower when the wind gusted to 135. So the strongest wind I ever took in the face was 135. But the strongest wind I recorded was 1:45. And it was on that day. It was February 11th, I believe, 2001 or 2002, one of those. But yeah, that, that was an exciting day because it went. I've never seen the temperature get that cold that quickly. But you know, you're 6,000ft up, 6,288ft up, and you're going to see rapid temperature changes and tight pressure gradients. That day we had a low tropopause with so much cold coming in. So you get a funneling effect. You know, there's the top of our atmosphere where very little of our weather penetrates. For folks that don't, don't really understand how the weather, the wind works up there. So you have a large volume of air that flows into a much smaller volume of air. It's a lot like sticking your, your thumb over the garden hose and the mountain. Is that your thumb? So you have accelerated wind coming right up over, over the summit. And it helps that the summit is, is rounded too, so just like your thumb. So that day in particular we had some, some pretty strong winds. The observatory averages hurricane force winds a third of the time, but once every three days you can expect the hurricane force winds. But that day was my favorite day. We got a chance to go outside and play in the wind. One of the responsibilities was to get the precipitation can, which is located about 50ft, 75ft from the safe haven of the doorway. And I remember the wind was about 120, 129 miles per hour. And you have to carry this ridiculous precipitation can just to measure you know a couple inches of snow. So we do that every six hours. A fun thing to do was there's a club called the Century Club. And I don't know if you've heard of this, Emily, but when the wind is sustained or gusting of 100 miles per hour or greater, if you can walk around the entire perimeter of the observation deck without falling or touching the railing, you get entered into this elite club called the Elder Century Club. And it's, it's, it's terrifying.

[A]

I can't decide if that's like badass or nerdy or both.

[B]

It's definitely nerdy. It's. Yeah. And if, I guess if you're in it, it's pretty badass. But, but I'm, I'm not in it. I think there's only 12 people that ever. I've tried it a couple times. But one thing that's hard that people don't might not necessarily think about when you have wind that strong in the wintertime is when you're walking into the wind and you have 100, 120 mile per hour wind coming at you, it's hard to breathe. So. And you're covered, your whole face is covered with goggles, face mask. So you almost get that feeling of suffocating and it's, it's almost terrifying. I don't, I don't like it. So you almost have to, you have to turn, breathe and then take a step. Then turn, breathe and take a step. So there are some people that are good at it. I was not one of those. But yeah, when it's that cold and that windy, it's, it's, it's. There are some fun things you can do. But the Century Club was. Always seemed to elude me. I could never make it.

[A]

Like, did you ever get hurt? Were other injuries ever during this process?

[B]

I never got hurt and I don't know anyone that has got hurt either. It's, it's generally a safe place to be. The building. The building. There's more concrete in the Sherman Adams Building where the observatory lives, than the Washington Monument. The walls are about 2 to 3ft thick in most cases. And the windows are bulletproof. So the windows have been tested to take a hailstone at 200mph in just case it needs to. But yeah, if you're in wind that strong, it's not like you're in a hurricane where there's projectiles coming at you, trees and things like that. You're on this barren landscape. There's nothing that's going to hit you unless there's ice falling off the tower, which does happen in the springtime. So usually if you get into any trouble, like if you fall over, if the wind blows you over, if you lay down flat, it's usually you can kind of crawl your way back to wherever you need to go. But, you know, I think most people are pretty smart that live and work up there. Nobody's going to go for a long hike in hurricane force winds. Where things get a little hairy is when other folks get into trouble up there. One of the problems you have with Mount Washington in the Presidential Range, really any mountain in Maine and New Hampshire is we're very accessible to some of the big cities like Boston, New York, Philadelphia. In a couple hours drive you can go for a hike and it, and go for ski as well. So that's one of the problems that we run into that unfortunately there have been a lot of deaths on the mountain. But, but yeah, I think if a lot of folks, somebody takes a day off from work and they say, I'm gonna go for a hike, I'm gonna go skiing no matter what, and then maybe the avalanche danger is considerable, you know, and, or the wind is going to be strong and the temperature is going to be cold, it's hard to tell that person, no, it's, today's not the best day, come back and do it another day. So it's important, I think, to be knowledgeable about the weather, which can change very quickly. As you mentioned earlier, it is the home of the world's worst weather. In the wintertime. There are avalanches that happen regularly and there have been problems with that over the years and, and they're happening more frequently now, especially in the wintertime for skiers, I've noticed, because equipment is getting better, there's more accessibility to get up into dangerous areas. So that's something that needs to be addressed, I think, in the coming years. I think it's just educating the public on when it's safe. Interesting.

[A]

So it sounds like when you describe the building bulletproof and all of the things that go on and employing the staff. Can you tell me why it's still important to have people up there doing this, why it's important to monitor the weather on Mount Washington, how the rest of the country can benefit from this?

[B]

Yeah, I think. Well, I think it's important to have that data set of observations that are continuous that go back to the early 1930s, 1932 to be exact. And in this day and age, I think climate studies are important and when you have that Arctic I outposts that's perched 6,288ft above sea level, you're going to get an important data set that you normally would not have down at sea level. So you might be able to see trends in climate that are greater or less based on that data set. And I think that's probably one of the more important pieces. But there's a lot going on up there. In addition to the observations, there's a lot of important research, as we discussed earlier. And education is a big part too. The observatory has taken a stance on education. They have these edutrips that you can sign up and spend a night or two on the summit and there'll be a theme to each one. One might be mountain meteorology, another one might be photography. So that's always fun as well. And they're a private nonprofit organization and they're member supported. So that's always a big part as well. I don't see the summit staff leaving anytime soon.

[A]

So tell me about your transition to tv. How did you go from doing this outdoorsy thing to now you're putting on makeup and there's a green screen and light.

[B]

Should we have to tell anybody about the makeup?

[A]

I mean, I'm sure you're perfect just the way you are, but we all are.

[B]

Yeah. So the TV thing is bizarre. No, it's great. The tv. TV is treating me really well. I just knew that living on a mountain is not going to work forever. So originally I wanted to get into research meteorology. And we were doing a lot of great icing research up there. I loved it. The problem was I didn't have a PhD so I was never the one doing the research. I was actually the one just kind of doing the grunt work behind the scenes. So I quickly realized that that wasn't for me. And I love forecasting, especially New England weather. Snowstorms or nor'easter. There's nothing more exciting than that. So I said, okay, let's. Let's try the TV thing. So I. Luckily, I don't know how I got hired. I was so bad. I got hired in Bangor at the ABC station. Bangor.

[A]

Pretty small market, right?

[B]

Yeah, fairly small. I don't think many people watch, which is good. And then just you know what it's like, you get comfortable with it. And so I got a job in Providence after that. It was great. Providence is a great place to live and work for a while. And then my wife and I found ourselves hiking and skiing every weekend. New Hampshire and Maine. So I said, okay, let's move back. And it was one of those things where we just made the lifestyle decision. We took a lateral move and luckily there was a position open at channel 13. And I've been there for about 20 years now. Yeah. And one of the reasons we chose to live here is I'm about an hour drive from Mount Washington, so we can get to the coast of Maine, you know, in about 15 minutes. We're pretty close to the coastline, but I can make it to ski resorts or, or backcountry skiing or wherever in the wintertime in about an hour. I'll drop this every week, usually once a week. I usually drop my, my kids off at school. So I'll take the hour ride up to Pinkham Notch, which is on the east side of Mount Washington, and I'll take my dog and we'll skin up to Tuckerman Ravine and we'll ski down. There's a lot of nice ski trails up there. The, the John Sherburne Trail, which is a nice little, almost like cruising Blue Trail you can ski down. We do that at least once a week when the snow's good.

[A]

Hold up. Your dog skis, all right.

[B]

I should have been more specific. He runs, I ski. Yeah. My dog comes with me while we ski. But, you know, the reason we just chose to live here is one of the reasons is we're so close to the mountains, which also provides a huge forecast headache, Emily, if you can imagine. I can, yeah. It's so I for my forecast area is southern and central Maine, all the western mountains of Maine and all the White mountains in New Hampshire. So our forecast area goes into New Hampshire. You know, we're forecasting coastal Maine, which this time of year the water temperature is in the low 60s. In the springtime, it can be in the mid-50s. And then you have 6,000 foot mountain 60 miles away. And in between there we have a beautiful lakes region. And so you have these different microclimates, but we love it. And it's a, it's a cool place.

[A]

Charlie, is there anything else you want to share about your life there in Maine or your time on Mount Washington?

[B]

For folks who haven't checked out the Mount Washington Observatory, check them out. It's Mountain Washington.org is their website. They're member supported. They're a private nonprofit. They're always looking for folks to get involved and volunteer as well. So, yeah, great organization. Thanks for having me. This has been really cool to chat with you today. I always like chatting about Mount Washing.

[A]

Cool, thanks. Charlie off the Radar is a production of the National Weather Desk. Make sure you're following the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes publish every Tuesday. If you like today's show, please share it with a friend. Also, make sure you check out some of our past episodes. Big thanks to Charlie LoPresti for joining me today. Also thanks to the Mount Washington Observatory for all that they do. Shout out to my associate producer Brian Petritz for his help on this episode. For the National Weather Desk, our meteorologist Emily Gracey. Make it a great day.