# NOAA Mtn Top Weather Site



## noski (Oct 22, 2010)

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/mountain/point/   You likely know about this, but I heard it on the news this morning and thought it was interesting.


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## thetrailboss (Oct 22, 2010)

FWIW it was 12F this morning on the top of Mount Washington and a -15 F windchill!


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## thetrailboss (Oct 23, 2010)

*Vermont NWS Adds Mountain Forecast Site*

Burlington's NWS Station has added a special mountain weather forecast site for hikers and skiers that gives the forecast information specific for certain peaks.  Read about tt here:  

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/...-Service-adds-Vermont-N.Y.-mountain-forecasts

Here is a link to the new page:  

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/mountain/point/

You click on the mountain logos and it gives you the narrative forecast including a chart for temperatures, wind direction, wind speed, and wind chill for every three hours.


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## Huck_It_Baby (Oct 23, 2010)

Perfect. Thanks for the link....I didn't know of this.


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## ski_resort_observer (Oct 23, 2010)

It is very cool but there are a couple of caveats to any point forecast.  If you look at the elevation for Mt Ellen, for example, you can only get a point at around 3000', not the summit. Secondly all the baseline info is from the nearest NWS station which for here in the MRV is the station at the airport in Berlin. The NWS then uses weather based algorithms to take the baseline data and produce the point forecasts. 

I think is about as accurate as you can get and lots of fun to quickly check mountain weather and forecasts anywhere around the country. The other cool thing is that your getting the baseline weather info from the same source as the weather folks on the net, tv or radio. It's the forecast that is the sticky wicket for those folks. :lol:


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## billski (Oct 24, 2010)

noski said:


> http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/mountain/point/   You likely know about this, but I heard it on the news this morning and thought it was interesting.



Just saw this on the BFP this AM.  Thanks for the link.

It's a nice step forward.  As SRO said, it's all about the altitude.  I'd much prefer a Webcam or better yet a weather station at base, mid and peak, as Stratton Mountain has.  In many ways, real time is more valuable information before during and after a storm.

Now, if we could get Albany NWS off their butt and take mountain forecasts more seriously - First, a snowforecast map (like the other offices do, duh!) and a mountain forecast like Burlington does.  That would go a long ways towards appreciating the mountain weather in the southern Greens.


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## mondeo (Oct 25, 2010)

ski_resort_observer said:


> It is very cool but there are a couple of caveats to any point forecast. If you look at the elevation for Mt Ellen, for example, you can only get a point at around 3000', not the summit. Secondly all the baseline info is from the nearest NWS station which for here in the MRV is the station at the airport in Berlin. The NWS then uses weather based algorithms to take the baseline data and produce the point forecasts.
> 
> I think is about as accurate as you can get and lots of fun to quickly check mountain weather and forecasts anywhere around the country. The other cool thing is that your getting the baseline weather info from the same source as the weather folks on the net, tv or radio. It's the forecast that is the sticky wicket for those folks. :lol:


The link shows over 4000' for the Mt. Ellen summit. It's not the full forecast you get for the normal click on the map point forecast, but it does give temps.


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## John W (Oct 27, 2010)

Is it POURING up there now??? I saw that it was in the 40's at Killington today.  Any chance for snow in the upper elevations????


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## WinnChill (Oct 27, 2010)

Not today John.  While some colder air was trapped in the lower valleys or base level from overnight (and with calm winds), the problem is that temps aloft, being brought in or "advected" by southwesterly winds, are well above freezing.  It's a little counterintuitive  but there's no way to get snow out of these showers with snow levels waaay up around 11 or 12,000'.  Hope that helps.


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## billski (Oct 27, 2010)

Weather.  Can't live with it, can't live without it.  :roll:


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## WinnChill (Oct 27, 2010)

Ain't that the truth!  At least those freezing levels drop this Friday and weekend!


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## drjeff (Oct 27, 2010)

WinnChill said:


> Ain't that the truth!  At least those freezing levels drop this Friday and weekend!



Yup!  One of the biggest things that the early season New England ski operations need is a prevailing wind direction from the North or Northwest, since especially at this time of year,  winds out of almost any other direction are going to have a significant warm component to them, even way up in the atmosphere :smash:


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## WinnChill (Oct 27, 2010)

Hey DrJeff!  Yeah, this alternating warm/cold stuff is dreadful.


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## drjeff (Oct 27, 2010)

WinnChill said:


> Hey DrJeff!  Yeah, this alternating warm/cold stuff is dreadful.



Yup!  And Winn I'm sure your getting ready for the next few months and trying to figure out what always seems to be that age old battle in early season Northeast storms, which what will win the battle, the cold fronts from the North and West kicking out the warm air ahead of the low, or the warm air associated with the low staying entrenched along the East Coast.  This is the time of year especially where I'm not quite sure how meterologists maintain their sanity in the Northeast!    :lol:


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## WinnChill (Oct 27, 2010)

drjeff said:


> Yup!  And Winn I'm sure your getting ready for the next few months and trying to figure out what always seems to be that age old battle in early season Northeast storms, which what will win the battle, the cold fronts from the North and West kicking out the warm air ahead of the low, or the warm air associated with the low staying entrenched along the East Coast.  This is the time of year especially where I'm not quite sure how meterologists maintain their sanity in the Northeast!    :lol:



Who said we had any sanity to begin with?  :smile:


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