Mount Washington Observatory, non-profit organization in the USA
Mount Washington Observatory is a research center on the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire dedicated to weather study. The facility is located in the Sherman Adams Summit Building and employs about 25 staff members who continuously collect data on wind, temperature, humidity, and other atmospheric conditions.
The observatory was founded in 1932, though weather data had been recorded on the summit since the late 1800s by the U.S. Signal Service. In 1934, the station recorded a wind gust of 231 miles per hour, a world record that stood until 1996.
The observatory carries the nickname Home of the World's Worst Weather, a name that took hold from a 1940 article and symbolizes the extreme conditions on the mountain. Visitors can see how scientists here use traditional measurement tools like the sling psychrometer, maintaining methods that have stayed consistent for decades.
Visitors should prepare for rapidly changing weather conditions and bring warmer clothing, especially during winter months when snow and strong winds are frequent. Access to the summit is via the famous cog railway, which slowly climbs the mountain and gives visitors time to adjust to thinner air and lower temperatures.
The station is the only one with its own ZIP code within the Sherman Adams Summit Building, where a U.S. Post Office also operates. This unusual detail shows how isolated and self-contained the summit operation is, with postmarks from one of the nation's highest-elevation post offices.
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