Windy Day |
 Dave Thurlow, Host |
I'm Dave Thurlow for the Mount Washington Observatory and this is The Weather Notebook. Today we actually look at Mount Washington and wind, something we do from time to time because it is, after all, our backyard.
Visitors to the summit will often see (just barely because of the clouds) that the line between sky and earth can be pretty subtle. The hard lines of mountain and rock blend into the soft mystery of the clouds. For 300 million years the clouds and wind have helped weather away two miles of mountaintop here in New Hampshire. At any given moment though, the clouds and wind seem to only want to bathe and caress the wildflowers found above treeline. Clouds pack the world's gentlest wallop.
From a distance, the cloud is discreet and slow-moving. But up close it's a one ton blob of water moving at hurricane speed. Its arrival isn't feared though, because the clouds impact only turns dry warmth to cool dampness. But it's hard to tell what the big hurry is all about.
The clouds fly on a wind that races away to the coast with determination. Maybe the wind is headed deep in the forest where it will relieve an old tree of a dying limb. Maybe farther downwind it will ruffle a window shade, announcing sunrise. Then finally, it will send sailboats on a journey across another line, the line between the sky and the sea. You can contact the Weather Notebook through our web site, which is www.mountwashington.org.
Major funding for our show comes from the National Science Foundation. The Weather Notebook is underwritten by Subaru maker of the all weather Legacy. Subaru -- the beauty of All-Wheel Drive. .