Climate Trends on the Highest Peak of the Northeast: Mount Washington, NH

Abstract

Climate change in mountains can vary with elevation, but there is a paucity of long-term climatological datasets for examination of elevational patterns. In the Northeast, there are 2 robust datasets from the highest peak, Mount Washington Summit and Pinkham Notch, NH. We examined trends for temperature, snow, and other derived climate indicators for the period of 1930s through 2018. Results reveal changing climate conditions, consistent in direction of change, including warming temperatures, changing winters, and extended growing seasons. Differences occur with weaker winter warming on the summit, and snow-related indicators providing unclear results for wind-influenced upper elevations. Recommendations for distributed monitoring, particularly for snow metrics, are encouraged for an improved understanding of the complex climate-change response on the mountains in the Northeast.