Mount Rainier National Park has set up a new webcam at Camp Muir that they say is the highest webcam in Washington State and one of the most remote in the United States.
Climbers and hikers into Mount Rainier alpine zones will be able to use the webcam to see where the tops of the clouds are and will discover that often when it is rainy at Paradise or lower down in the valley, it may be sunny and warm at Muir, par officials say.
Weather forecasting centers such as the National Weather Service will be able to use the images and data for forecasting purposes both for the public and for pilots.
Park officials say there are limits to how often clear images will be visible. It will be common when there are clouds and/or blowing snow that the camera will rime and the images will show only white. This is expected to be the case for much of the winter. There is not enough power at Camp Muir to operate any heating elements that could keep the camera shedding rime ice.
The camera is fixed and cannot be moved remotely, so an item on the wish list is to install a remotely moveable camera, park officials say.
You can access the image on Mount Rainier's webpage: http://www.nps.gov/mora or the direct address of the image is: http://www.nps.gov/webcams-mora/muir.jpg
