Arctic Wednesdays 2024: Week 3 Second Pre-Trip Blog

 Journey to the Frozen Summit: Unveiling Weather Wonders on Mount Washington

My name is Erin Towns and I am a social studies teacher at Edward Little High School in Auburn Maine.  Tomorrow I begin a journey from my home in Augusta Maine to Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire to participate in Mount Washington Observatory’s Arctic Wednesdays, a professional development program for teachers in extreme weather and climate.   

I am an alumni of the PolarTREC Teacher Program and traveled to participate in a research expedition on the Western Greenland Ice Sheet.  I fell in love with all things Arctic and was given an opportunity to study at the University of Maine’s School of Earth and Climate Sciences. I am a member of the UMaine Polar Geophysics Team and serve in an educational capacity creating programming and curriculum that will engage students in PolarSTEM subjects.  I also work all summer in Alaska with Upward Bound students from all over the United States who travel to study about PolarSTEM career pathways and ice and climate science. We run two programs, one in Juneau and the other at Toolik Field Station. 

                  

Students checking out the Arctic Tundra, Toolik Field Station

The goal of my time on Mount Washington is to collect information about making weather observations to use in creating classroom lessons, activities, and multimedia products that can be shared with students in Maine and Alaska.  As an individual who believes in interdisciplinary teaching strategies I am also interested in connecting Arctic and Maine weather and the economic, social, and political impacts of weather events on communities.  

Camp Ellis cleanup after being rocked by huge storm surges and king tides.  

The day will begin quite early to get to the Mount Washington Auto Road and the gear I will be bringing is already prepared.  Mount Washington’s weather in the winter can be extremely harsh with freezing temperatures, strong winds, and limited visibility.  We were told to be prepared for temperatures on the summit to range from single digits to lower teens above zero with clear conditions likely, and winds approaching 50-60mph with higher gusts possible.  Whether that will be the case or not, we shall see.  As an individual who has spent time in polar environments, this can change quickly and we prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  

Dr. Seth Campbell and members of the UMaine Polar Geophysics Team navigate constantly changing weather while collecting ground penetrating radar data on the Juneau Icefields.