Dr. Lynam is one of about 30 staffers who live on-site. Since Feb. 22, he said the official count is a cumulative amount of 39 inches of snow to date.
"The previous two years, there's been barely a drop of precipitation on Mt. Hamilton, in '21 and '22. So this is almost a return to normal," he described. "The unusual thing about this winter so far, and certainly this February and the recent snowstorms, is that it's been a lot in a very short contained space of time over a few days."
This has certainly made travel treacherous. Beyond impacts to mobility, the observatory recently lost power and is running on a diesel generator. Any effort to replenish diesel supplies will come in the next few days, he said."Once it gets dark, it will freeze and there will be black ice and it will be extraordinarily dangerous on the road," resident astronomer Dr. Elinor Gates explained. "So I'll just have to be super careful. Now, those of us that live here on Mt.
Gates said because she and others are living in such a remote location, the community is prepared for such scenarios and has stocked pantries.