Week 5: Pre-trip Report

Preparing for March 7, 2018… trip up Mt.Washington

This winter has been all about the weather for me. I’m always looking for the next big snowstorm,
but this year I’m also taking a course on weather AND I have this exciting chance to travel up Mt.
Washington.This combination has made it so that I am thinking about and studying the weather
for most of my “free” hours, and then some.

We’re all getting very excited for my trip up Mount Washington next week. My students really wish
they could come along! We’re getting used to the Kestrel weather meter, and students have made
predictions about the temperature and wind chill at the top of the mountain when I get there, if we
make it to the top! Hoping for cooperative weather! I’ve been checking out average temperatures
over the month of February (thank you, weather archives) and it appears that February, especially
the second half, has been a bit warmer than usual. Also checking out webcams with students,
which show iced over windows and some snow remaining at the summit, so that’s a relief.

In the week since returning from February break we have just started our focus on weather and
climate, so I’m racing to give kids enough of a background understanding of weather to maximize
their enthusiasm, interest, and questions when we have our Skype session with the researchers
at the top of the mountain. Our overall question in our weather unit will be “What makes weather
EXTREME?” and students are starting to hypothesize  and study possible causes. We’re also
examining climate regions around the world to get a sense of weather patterns in different parts
of the world. Soon we’ll get down to the nitty gritty of temperature, humidity, and air pressure and
how they interact to create our weather, but first I wanted them to have a sense of what’s so
special about Mount Washington.

-Laura Seaver-Maley, Loranger Middle School, Old Orchard Beach, ME