Mount Washington stuck in deep freeze

Winds over 140 mph create record wind chill

Temperatures struggled to climb above zero in Mount Washington Valley yesterday, and it was even colder atop Mount Washington, which again proved it's "home to the world's worst weather."Tuesday night, according to Scot Henley, marketing manager for The Mount Washington Observatory, staff atop the Northeast's highest peak recorded a wind gust of 142 mph and low temperatures of minus 34 degrees. Although these temperatures and winds are relatively extreme for most areas, they are nowhere near the mountain's world record 231 mph wind gust (April, 1934) and record low of minus 47 degrees (January 1933). Mount Washington's record high wind for January (since record keeping began in 1932) is 173 mph, recorded in 1985."It is downright dangerous out there right now," Andrea Grant, a summit weather observer, said yesterday. "In these conditions, we don't go out to de-ice the instruments on the observatory tower, we are not making the 300-foot walk out to fetch the precipitation can, and when we do need to go outside to make our hourly weather observations, we are extremely careful to have all flesh covered. We are definitely thinking 'safety first' right now."The summit of Mount Washington experienced more than 24 continuous hours at temperatures of minus 25 degrees or lower and winds at or above hurricane force. For 18 straight hours, beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday, winds averaged over 100 mph. "When we are out in hurricane force winds, it feels like someone is pushing you from behind," Grant said. "When the wind reaches 110 or 120 mph, it literally feels like someone is hitting you, but this is why we're here. This is what makes this place so special."Grant is no stranger to cold climates, as she and fellow observer Kirk Spelman are former researchers at the South Pole. "At the pole, when the temperature would be around 80-below, instead of saying that we were freezing, we said that we wished we were at the freezing point (32 degrees)," joked Grant. "That definitely applies here as well."Because of the mountain's icing, wind and frigid winter temperatures, Mount Washington Observatory has become one of the nation's prime facilities for icing and cold weather research. "The mountain is a natural laboratory," Ken Rancourt, director of research, said. "At our summit facility, we have the opportunity to study weather phenomena and its byproducts such as visibility and gusty winds, icing on structures and airplane wings, and frequent dense fog, which can generally reduce visibilities to less than 25 feet."