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Ken Rancourt

Ken Rancourt
Ken Rancourt

A meterologist's dream

Meteorologist Ken Rancourt experiences "the world's worst weather."

Close your eyes for a moment. Now imagine the worst weather you can think of.

Maybe it's hurricane force winds. Or two feet of snow.

Whatever weather your imagination can dream up, it is no match for the weather Ken Rancourt ('78, meteorology) has experienced over the past 30 years.

Rancourt works for the Mount Washington Observatory, perched atop the 6,288-foot mountain in New Hampshire. Home of "the world's worst weather," the summer boasts the world record for fastest ground wind speed, recorded at an incredible 231 mph on April 12, 1934.

While Rancourt wasn't present for that phenomenon, he was there on Dec. 4, 1980, when wind speeds reached 182 mph.

"The winds were so strong that it took three people to open the door - one to turn the door knob and the other two to push on the door," Rancourt remembers.

"The pressure created by the wind was so significant that day that the fire alarms were triggered. It was at that point that we decided it wasn't a good idea to go outside."

For 21 hours that December day, the wind blew over 100 mph. The highest average wind speed for an hour was achieved at 135 mph. It was quite an experience for the newly hired Rancourt.

"I had only been there for three months and wondered what I had gotten myself into," he said. "It was truly an experience I'll never forget. Another observer and I were outside 'enjoying' the wind when we went quickly from being excited to fearing for our safety.

"It was like listening to a freight train."

For 15 years Rancourt worked eight-day shifts as an observing meteorologist on Mt. Washington. And although the observatory is isolated at times in the winter, he has never tired of the experience.

"I would compare it to being a fireman or working on a submarine," he said. "One thing's for sure; it was never boring."

During the late spring, summer and early fall months, vehicular traffic takes individuals to the summit. A one-way trip takes about 20-25 minutes.

That changes in the winter as heavy snow (the record is 500 inches, with a yearly average of 250 inches) makes the road impassible and a Snow-Cat oversnow vehicle is required. Temperatures fall outside to as low as 47 degrees below zero and it is not uncommon for the wind chill to dip to 100 degrees below zero.

"The combination of wind, fog, blowing snow and ice all contribute to making this the world's worst weather," Rancourt says.

In the winter, the brutal conditions and reduced visibility can extend the 25-minute commute to up to six hours. It is a dangerous commute that Rancourt has made over 2000 times.

"There was one time when the wind picked up so much we couldn't travel," he recalled. "We had to sit stationary for two to three hours. The winds shook the vehicle so much that we'd think we were moving, but were not."

Rancourt has also been on his share of rescue missions on the mountain, but these days he leaves most of these duties to others. As the director of summit operations at the Mount Washington Observatory, Rancourt stays mainly at the observatory's base camp. There he is in charge of staffing, transportation, facilities, maintenance, instructional technology and overseeing the observatory's nine Mesonet sites.

He also oversees research at the observatory, which is frequently utilized by industry professionals and universities to test the effects of wind and ice on various products. The National Science Foundation, the Federal Aviation Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and various universities also fund projects on the mountain's summit.

Listening to Rancourt talk about his experiences, you have to think it wouldn't matter what type of research was done on Mount Washington.

"Is my job exhilarating? Yes," Rancourt says. "I have gotten to be in weather that is not experienced by many people.

"It's a meteorologist's dream."