The Mount Washington Observatory (MWObs) is a private,

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

scientific and educational institution organized under the laws of the state of New Hampshire. The weather observation station is located on the summit of

Mount Washington Mount Washington is an ultra-prominent mountain in the state of New Hampshire. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorio ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The first regular meteorological observations on Mount Washington were conducted by the U.S. Signal Service, a precursor of the

Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

, from 1870 to 1892.

History

The U.S. Signal Service, a predecessor to the Weather Bureau, occupied the summit and kept records from 1870 to 1892. Starting in 1932, the current observatory began keeping records. On April 12, 1934, the observatory staff recorded a wind gust of 231 mph that at the time was the highest recorded wind speed in the world, a record that was held until 1996. The observatory's weather data have accumulated into a valuable climate record since. Temperature and humidity readings have been collected using a

sling psychrometer image:Haar-Hygrometer.jpg, A hair tension dial hygrometer with a nonlinear scale. A hygrometer is an instrument that measures humidity: that is, how much water vapor is present. Humidity measurement instruments usually rely on measurements of som ...

, a simple device containing two mercury thermometers. Where most unstaffed weather stations have undergone technology upgrades, consistent use of the sling psychrometer has helped provide scientific precision to the Mount Washington climate record. The observatory makes prominent use of the slogan "Home of the World's Worst Weather", a claim that originated with a 1940 article by Charles Brooks (the man generally given the majority of credit for creating the Mount Washington Observatory), titled "The Worst Weather In the World" (even though the article concluded that Mt. Washington most likely did ''not'' have the world's worst weather). The

Sherman Adams Llewelyn Sherman Adams (January 8, 1899 – October 27, 1986) was an American businessman and politician, best known as White House Chief of Staff for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the culmination of an 18-year political career that also inclu ...

summit building, named for the 67th

Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...

, houses the observatory; it is closed to the public during the winter and hikers are not allowed inside the building except for emergencies and pre-arranged guided tours.Mount Washington Observatory

Climatic data

Partners

The Mount Washington Observatory receives much of its support from contributing members. However, over the years the MWObs has also come to receive support from several company and organizational partners, including

L.L. Bean L.L.Bean is an American privately held retail company that was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean. The company, headquartered in Freeport, Maine (where it was founded), specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment. History L.L. ...

Eastern Mountain Sports Eastern Mountain Sports (or EMS) is an American outdoor clothing and equipment retailer in the Northeastern United States headquartered in Meriden, Connecticut. EMS sells outdoor equipment and clothing from both name brands and its own EMS line. ...

(EMS),

Cranmore Mountain Resort Cranmore Mountain Resort, operating in the summer with a Mountain Adventure Park, is a ski area located in North Conway, New Hampshire, United States. It began operations in the winter of 1937–38, and was owned until 1984 by the Schneider fa ...

, the Mt. Washington Auto Road, and th
Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce
In 2011, EMS replaced L.L. Bean as the official outfitter of the Observatory. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

maintains a small

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

for outgoing mail, located in the Sherman Adams building at the summit; the ZIP Code is 03589.

References

External links

Mount Washington Observatory

The Meteorologial Records of the Mount Washington Observatory
at Dartmouth College Library {{Coord, 44, 16, 13, N, 71, 18, 12, W, type:landmark, display=title

Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

Meteorological observatories fr:Mont Washington (New Hampshire)#Climat

History

Climatic data

Partners

See also

References

Further reading

External links