The feel-like temperatures at what is considered the highest peak in the Northeast United States dipped well below zero Saturday morning, breaking a national wind chill record. On Saturday, Mount Washington recorded a national wind chill record of 108 degrees below zero, while actual temperatures were negative 47 degrees and wind speed was 89 mph. Frenchville, Maine, next door, also had dangerous wind chill values of 61 degrees.
The National Weather Service recently reported on its forecast for northern New England, warning of wind chills that most individuals have never witnessed in their lifetime. To make matters worse, an unprecedented event transpired late Friday as the tropopause – the demarcation between the troposphere and stratosphere – fell beneath Mount Washington’s highest point.
As a result, Francis Tarasiewicz and his team at Mt. Washington Observatory will be able to sniff out different layers of the atmosphere. “We will be able to actually detect the smell of ozone, since that’s where it’s at its highest concentration, particularly in the lower stratosphere,” he said. “So, we will look out for a bleachy smell.”
