World's Worst Weather? Really?

[dvbl]

Mt Washington..."Home of the World's Worst Weather." Hardly. Nice marketing slogan to draw the crowds, but highly unlikely. It's well known that the Presidentials are the point where two or three major weather systems collide, and that the weather can change on a dime, and that the highest recorded land wind speed was on Washington's summit, and that its close proximity to millions of people makes it an especially deadly piece of low-hanging fruit.

But the worst weather in the world? Please. Coldest?...not even close. Windiest?...despite that day in the 1930's, it's very doubtful this summit is the windiest in the world. Altitude sickness?...next question. Most snow?...next question.

However one defines the bad weather...temperature extremes, precipitation, wind, altitude...I'm at a loss to see what makes Mt Washington's the worst in the world. I'm always happy to be educated, so please tell me what I'm missing.

I guess I just have a low tolerance for exaggeration. Yes, yes, yes, I know it's deadly. Many of us have tasted a little bit of the winter weather in the Whites. But it's the use of the word "worst" that makes me roll my eyes. I can die in a Cat3 hurricane; that doesn't make it the world's worst hurricane.

 

[Neil]

I have often found the world's worst weather right here on Views From The Top.
Many storms, lot's of wind, severe heat, horrific downpours, updrafts and downdrafts, not to mention thunder and lightning.

 

[cbcbd]

Probably a cute slogan tagged on from the highest recorded surface temperature in the world's history - that just means that there are summits out there without a weather station. To me it's as annoying as calling a baseball/football/basketball/etc team "World Champions".

Mt Washington it probably one of the biggest (serious weather) small (geological "stature") mountains in the world.

Now the question for you is, what is most annoying marketing catch phrase in the world - "Home of the World's Worst Weather" or "This Car Climbed Mt Washington"?

 

[Tom Rankin]

Perhaps they get away with it because it is the weather station with the world's worst weather.

You don't get a lot of weather reports from the summit of K2!

Here's a little 'defense' from the MWO web site:

"First and foremost, the World Record Wind is a testimony of the real extremes that can rule on Mount Washington. Significant cold, abundant snowfall, dense fog, heavy icing, and exceptional winds are a prominent feature of Mount Washington's environment. Yes, there are colder places, such as Antarctica, and snowier places, such as some peaks in the Cascade Range. However, Mount Washington, a small peak by global standards, really does have weather that can rival some of the most rugged places on earth. There are days each winter when the combination of life-threatening weather factors on Mount Washington is remarkably similar to weather extremes which have been recorded in the polar regions and on peaks three or four times Mount Washington's height. The World Record Wind is one benchmark testifying to the mountain's truly severe weather."

 

[dug]

World's Worst Recorded Weather. No weather stations on the top of Everest....

 

[nartreb]

This says it all:

"similar to weather... on peaks three or four times Mount Washington's height."

Let's see, that'd be: 6,000 to 8,000 meters. It took me about 30 seconds to find 140 named peaks that meet or exceed that criterion.

"Presumed to be among the 150 or so worst weather zones in the world", anyone?

PS it's not even the record for highest surface wind speed on land, it's something like the record for highest surface wind speed on land, not during a tornado or hurricane (though I have my doubts about the 1934 storm), measured with an anemometer (not any other type of device eg doppler) whose calibration was subsequently verified by the [?USGS].

 

[hikerfast]

I think the combination of all the factors, and the frequency, is what makes them make the claim. I agree with the point that..other places dont have weather stations. I like the point that even in antarctica, and lots of other remote places with weather stations, the record hasn't been broken. I've always been intrigued by the claim also.

 

[Paradox]

It may be the very nicest weather. Anyone want to climb Mt Washington in January in a cotton golf shirt? You first. Even with the dubious claims on the well signed trails, lots of people get hurt or killed every year because of the weather. If you think "The world's worst weather" is out of line, you should see what the guy across town is claiming about his ability to do dentistry.

Signs that stated "The world's worst weather" on trails leading into the area were a very memorable experience to me when I first hiked in the area in the late 1970's. They did not scare me off, but I did say to myself, "Have I got everything I might need?" I cannot help but think that there have been less people airlifted to Manchester because of those claims. We are outdoors geeks, of course we are going to be a bit smug about those claims.

 

[Woody]

I think Paradox is on target here. The slogan has probably saved a few lives by making people think about their preparedness.

 

[Mattl]

First off Mount Washington has the record for the highest recorded wind on earth, but thats not why it is the most extreme. For any recording station it has the combination of the highest winds with the most precipitation, fog, and quickly changing climate. The everest area actually records winds on a few of the base camps that don't even come close to the average on Mount Washington. Think about it..the recording stations are over 18,000 feet high and Mount Washington is 6000..and they still don't come close. I don't remember the link, but if someone can find it they can see what some of the wind and precip is like near the top of everest. Yes they don't have readings from the summit, but it is still relitively close. Nepal is a very dry place, infact it is a high plateau desert. They don't have anything close to the our area for precipiation. Everywhere on earth has its extremes. But Mount Washington has the worst combination all year. -Mattl
http://www.geocities.com/mattlacroix4/great_outdoors.html

 

[grouseking]

From what I understand, relatively speaking, Mt Everest's weather isn't all that bad. What makes it worse for climbers is the lack of oxygen and steep terrain. For example, check out the Mt Everest forecast for the next 3 days. Temps below zero...yes, but don't forget you're nearly 30,000 ft asl. And notice the tranquility of the weather. Obviously forecasts are subject to change, but you don't see any radical changes in temperature, do you? Most glaring is the wind speed....no higher than 20 mph....on the summit of the world. The forecast for the higher summits today in the Prezzies was for winds of 40-60 mph with higher gusts. And at a mere 5000-6000 ft.


Places like Mt McKinley or other remote Alaska peaks might have worse weather overall, but I think its more constant than the weather on Mount Washington. New England has some of this most variable weather on the planet, so it would make logical sense that the highest point in NewEngland would have crazy weather times 10, and they do. I also think that the variability makes Mount Washington's weather worse than most of the world. Last week they went from 60 degrees to accumulating snow and winds to 100 mph. Then there was a warmup over the weekend capped off by a dangerous thunderstorm on Sunday. Now its cold and windy again. It will calm down mid week and then get wild and crazy by Friday with more snow or rime this weekend. Not bad for a 6000 foot mountain in September.

I think you know how I feel about the subject.

grouseking

 

[grouseking]

More interesting Links from up high

Well, after some searching, I found a link to a Mt McKinley weather station located at 19,000 feet!! Weather didn't sound too horrifying, although the wind isnt working right now. Temps about -13F. While looking thru the raw data, the strongest winds I saw were about 35 miles per hour. Here is a link to the Mt McKinley weather page . I'm definitely bookmarking it!!

And here is a link to some data taken from the highest point in Bolivia over 21,000 feet. It's not that bad there from what I can see.21,000 ft . The weather seems pretty constant.

I think the only places that can really rival Mt Washington would be on the Torngats up in Canada. The weather is bad enough to begin with at that latitude and those mtns must make it worse. If someone can find me a good weather station that rivals mount washington I'd be more than happy to change my view. But for now, I've pretty much convinced myself....again.

grouseking

 

[thuja]

an artefact of weather stations

Of course you are right. It's an artifact of weather stations, or the lack thereof. A similar claim, the "world's greatest annual snowfall" or some such, is bestowed on the Paradise inn, around treeline on the S slope of Mt rainier. Or the Mt Baker ski area, which I think beat the record a few years ago. But stop to think about it. What about the ironically named Mt Fairweather, in the Alaska panhandle, or all those mountains in the BC coast ranges, or the "campo de hielo del sur" in chilean Patagonia? Nah. The Mt Washington claim is nonsense, as is the "greatest annual snowfall" claim for Paradise at Mt rainier.

Speaking of which, I would have thought that many or most places in Antarctica have axiomatically "worse" weather than Mt washington. Doesn't the accumulation of ten thousand feet of ice count for anything?

 

[w7xman]

Speaking of which, I would have thought that many or most places in Antarctica have axiomatically "worse" weather than Mt washington. Doesn't the accumulation of ten thousand feet of ice count for anything?

Most of Antactica is actually quite pleasant, cold not withstanding. South Pole station for example averages about 5" of snowfall a year, and the all time record wind gust is 43mph. Then again, the record high is 7F at Pole, and parts of the coast get quite windy...

Perhaps I'm biased in my position, but I'm also realistic...

There are surely places that have worse weather from time to time, and likely a few remote places have a worse climate, but I think alot of you have hit it right that it's the consistency of fog, wind, moisture, snowfall, relative cold and changeablility of the weather that has this little peak a tough place to beat. There are colder and snowier places, but I doubt many other locals gust a hurricane 2 out of 3 days all winter long...and though likely there are some, its just not recorded anywhere else.

So, by far, the consistently worst weather recorded anywhere on Earth, and the most accessable extremely harsh climate to any real large population...

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I would agree that Mt Washington doesn't have the 'world's worst weather', but in might be in the running for 'world's worse weather close to metropolitan areas'. That still might be a stretch though -

In any case - here's a real-life dilemma which occurs occasionally on Mt Washington. I climbed it with some friends last Friday, and the stats coming down from the summit were rather grim - winds approaching 70mph, temps beflow freezing, a couple of inches of snow on the ground ... death and destruction for a mid-September day. In case you haven't been to the summit building lately - NOAA had given them a grant, and there's a spiffy new electronic display/bulletin board in the cafeteria on the left wall before you head downstairs to the museum. Apparently this also includes a relay of pertinent data to Pinkham.

Here's the problem we encountered: the statistics reported were quite accurate - but only for the top 100 feet of the mountain. In fact, there was very little snow where the Tucks trail meets the road, but sure enough - a couple of inches of snow/crud/rime at the top level outside the restaurant. And the wind, which was moderate all day (including coming across the ridge from Boott Spur) was nearly knockdown level when you reached the top of the wooden stairs. The difference in temps from the summit to the bottom of the cone (where the Tucks and Lionshead trails diverge) was about 20 degrees.

When I relayed this to the AMC staff manning the desk at Pinkham, they were a bit flustered as they have to rely on the instruments in shaping their advice to climbers. Granted – this situation was a bit unusual in that the variability of conditions was much greater than at other times (am not an expert on Washington but have been there nearly 100 times in all seasons). The very summit of Washington (as it sometimes is on others) has worse weather and will leave the explanation of why that it to actual meteorologists.

So – what does a thoughtful hiker do? As always – hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

 

[CaptCaper]

We just went to a slide show at Weeks State Park this fall by a Mt. Observatory member. He said they call it the worst weather because of the different types that happen. Rain to snow,etc. On top of Everest no rain ever. With Everest it's the altitude that seems to play a big part.
Also because of the crowds that go to Washington and the fact that it has the highest winds recorded as well.

Nice slide show.

 

[Mad Townie]

(am not an expert on Washington but have been there nearly 100 times in all seasons).

Uh, Kevin, what in the world are the requirements for your label of "expert"?

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Uh, Kevin, what in the world are the requirements for your label of "expert"?

Well, maybe I am coming across with a bit of false modesty, but am rather reluctant to proclaim myself an expert on much of anything. Life has taught me that just when I thought I had mastered about all I needed to know about something I've fallen flat on my face. Like my 34th summit of Lafayette and got caught in a squall so intense I had trouble seeing my feet and breathing. Had to trace the outline of the old foundation on the top to convince myself we were actually on the summit. No fun whatsoever. In the right conditions you can get lost in your own backyard.

 

[blownaway]

Worst Weather---Maybe

Define bad/worst weather......Isn't there somewhere in the range of 60 sunny/clear days out of 365/yr in the MW area? Seems like there's always a group of dark cloulds hanging around ole George. The wind is also an issue....it seems to constantly blow in the Winter months..the wind chill numbers are ridiculus. The alarming speed in which the weather can change is another strong point for the "Worlds Worst." You can get soaked by rain during a quick moving front, then freeze to death from bone chilling air a few minutes later. The bag is so mixed, you often never know what your going to truely get. Yes, I'm a supporter of the Worlds "worst weather" club and will always give this range the respect it deserves.

 

[Jim lombard]

Maybe another mountain should make the claim of Worlds worst weather and then we can compare side by side. Until that happens, Mt Washington gets that title and deserves it.