Windswept Online
Bulletin of the Mount Washington Observatory
Windswept is published three times a year, featuring updates about the Observatory’s work and stories about the mountain’s weather, personalities, news, and special events. Find a selection of recent articles and past editions below. You can receive Windswept in print by becoming a member of Mount Washington Observatory.
Bringing Polar Byrd I to Mount Washington
Bringing Polar Byrd I to Mount Washington By Jackie Broccolo In 1968, my grandfather joined the Polar Byrd I “Dustin Transpolar Flight”, which was the first commercial flight to carry civilians across both poles and touch down on all continents in just 26 days. This round-the-world flight was a tribute to renowned polar explorer and pioneer of aerial exploration, Admiral Richard E. Byrd. Admiral Byrd led several historic expeditions to Antarctica from 1928 to 1956, including establishing the first United States Antarctic base on the Ross Ice Shelf (Little America I) during his second mission in 1928, the first
In Remembrance: Paul T. Fitzgerald
In Remembrance: Paul T. Fitzgerald By Rob Kirsch, MWOBS Trustee & Immediate Past President The Observatory and Mount Washington communities have lost a giant. Paul Thomas Fitzgerald passed away peacefully early on February 5, 2026. Paul was born in Springfield, MA, on April 27, 1950, and moved to Laconia at the age of two. He attended St. John’s School, Laconia High School and graduated from St. Michael’s College. Paul was in the first graduating class of the Franklin Pierce Law Center, now UNH Law School. Paul opened a law practice in Laconia with a classmate. He spent nearly fifty
Life as a Mesonet and Information Systems Technician
Life as a Mesonet and Information Systems Technician By Colby Morris Installing an automated weather station with MWOBS Director of Technology Keith Garrett (left). The instrument I am holding is a temperature sensor. From a young age, I was always fascinated by storms and other weather phenomena like hail and ground fog. I knew I wanted to understand how the weather formed and shaped the world around us. It helped that my father is a pilot; I always sat in the front seat, peering out the big glass window watching clouds go in and out of view.
Supporter Spotlight: AJ Mastrangelo
Supporter Spotlight: AJ Mastrangelo By Wendy Almeida A young AJ on the summit with Rebecca Scholand. AJ Mastrangelo’s relationship with Mount Washington Observatory began long before his internship—or his current career as a meteorologist. It started with a childhood visit to the summit. “My family had a seasonal place on Squam Lake in Holderness,” he recalls. “We’d always make trips up to Bretton Woods and that area, so I knew of the Observatory since I was a kid. I think I was about eight or nine years old when we drove up the Auto Road and took
From Trailheads to Friendships: How 25 Years of Seek the Peak Built a Community
From Trailheads to Friendships: How 25 Years of Seek the Peak Built a Community By MWOBS Staff | April 30, 2025 From Humble Trails to Towering Triumphs In 2001, a small team with a big vision launched a hike that would change everything. Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS) staff members created Seek the Peak—a way for outdoor enthusiasts to support mountain forecasting and weather science by doing what they love: climbing the Northeast’s tallest peak. Windswept announces 1st Annual Seek the
Extreme Commuting on Mount Washington
Extreme Commuting on Mount Washington By Lauren Clem | Winter 2024/2025 This article was originally published in the Winter 2024/25 edition of Mt Washington Valley Vibe, a unique, outdoor-focused, seasonally-printed publication in the Mt. Washington Valley of New Hampshire. WiseguyCreative.com photo In his 19 years serving as a weather observer for the Mount Washington Observatory, Ryan Knapp has seen it all. He’s seen 10-foot snow drifts piled against the walls of the Sherman Adams Building. He’s experienced minus-40-degree temperatures with a wind chill of 101 below. He’s seen clear days with a view 130 miles in every direction,
Just Another Fall Foliage Season at the Cog Railway
Just another Fall Foliage Season at the Cog Railway By Randall Armor| December 9, 2024 Each year, from late September thru mid-October, Mount Washington presents her best, most colorful face to the world. The onset of Autumn is always spectacularly beautiful up here, bringing with it an equally spectacular part-time migration of admirateurs du feuillage (as our friends across the northern border might politely say). The first six weeks of Fall ’24 saw an unusually dense influx of leaf-seeking out-of-towners converging on our rocky little chunk of paradise. Now, don’t get us wrong– tourism is the lifeblood of our
Cog Railway Mesonet Overview
Cog Railway Mesonet Overview By Keith Garrett | November 12, 2024 Skyline mesonet station installation on September 3, 2024. The Cog Railway Vertical Profile is nearly online. Currently, three new stations have been brought online. The first is at 2,620 feet, in an open grassy area next to the pond at Marshfield Station at the base of the Cog Railway. The next is at 3,430 feet along the tracks, close to an area called Cold Springs. Continuing uphill, the third station will be installed at 3,850 feet attached to an on top of Waumbek Station. Half Way
Remembering Guy Gosselin
In Remembrance: Guy Gosselin By Rob Kirsch | July 20, 2024 Quodumque Est Durus, Nobis Maxime Placet Life Trustee and Former Executive Director Guy Gosselin died during the early morning on March 7, 2024. He was a lifelong resident of Gorham, NH, a consistent contributor to his community and state, a father of three, a grandfather and great grandfather to more, an intellect in the spirit of the renaissance and a friend and mentor to hundreds who had the privilege to cross paths with him. Guy was influential in more ways than this brief remembrance can describe, and he
Record Gust, Human Grit: 90 Years of Big Wind
Record Gust, Human Grit: 90 Years of Big Wind By Ellen Estabrook | April 10, 2024 “’Will they believe it?’ Was our first thought. I felt then the full responsibility of that startling measurement…” Salvatore Pagliuca, Weather Observer and electrical engineer, wrote those words in the observer logbook on April 12, 1934, upon noting a record wind velocity on the summit of Mount Washington of 231 miles per hour. This record, confirmed by the National Weather Bureau, still stands as the fastest wind speed ever recorded at a staffed, non-automated station. It is here that we turn our attention
