A couple weeks ago, a local Weather Service meteorologist led a group of teachers in search of "the world's worst weather" by journeying to the top of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire.

Mt. Washington is the northeast's highest peak at 6288 feet. Thousands of people visit the summit each summer, but few during winter because of the frequent sub-zero cold, hurricane-force winds, and whiteouts. There's a weather station and museum at the summit, and research facilities for equipment testing. And what a great place to test equipment, given the extremes in weather. In fact, the world's fastest recorded wind, 231 mph, occurred there in April 1934.

Bob Wanton, the meteorologist who led the group, tells me that despite the harshness, it was a great experience. The first day was sunny with a visibility over 100 miles, though wind chills were around -20^o. Clouds moved in the next day, and by the time the snow tractor took them down the mountain, visibility was near zero and winds gusted above 80 mph. Sounds like they got both the best and the worst of Mt. Washington winter weather.