5,712 ft | Presidential | 2 routes
As of October 5, 2026
Trail conditions on Mount Jefferson are currently rated Dangerous. It's 35°F (feels like 26°F) with SW winds at 10 mph. The shortest of 2 listed routes is Mount Jefferson via Caps Ridge: 4.8 miles round trip with 2,724 ft of elevation gain, taking about 3-5 hours. Mount Jefferson (5,712 ft) is #3 of 48 on the NH 48 list. See the hour-by-hour Mount Jefferson weather forecast for summit temps, wind chill, and the best hiking window.
Mount Jefferson weather forecast
Hourly summit temps, wind chill & freezing level, trailhead to summit
Best time to hike Mount Jefferson
Month-by-month conditions from our daily records
Feels like 26°F
Recent Precipitation
Rain: 0.16" (24h) · 0.16" (48h)
~2.6°F drop per 1,000ft
Conditions summary as of October 5, 2026
A major cold front brings a mix of rain and snow showers, freezing fog, and rapidly building winds that are forecast to reach hurricane force by Monday evening and stay above 75 mph into Tuesday morning, with a wind chill advisory in effect through Tuesday evening. Mount Jefferson's 1.2 miles of fully exposed terrain offers no escape from this, so postponing is strongly advised. The calmer, clearer window arrives Wednesday, when temperatures rebound and the forecast is overcast with little precipitation.
Expect about 36-52°F at the trailhead but roughly 24-43°F and 54 mph winds at the summit, with wind chill near 2°F, so conditions change from cool to severe winter above treeline. The most dangerous transition is leaving treeline (~4,000 ft), where winds jump from the 20s to the 50s mph and exposure becomes total; pack winter insulation, hardshells, and face protection before leaving the trailhead.
Best Hiking Window
No safe window in the next 48 hours: winds stay at or above hurricane force from Monday evening through much of Tuesday. If a hike is planned at all, wait for Wednesday, when temperatures rebound toward the upper 40s with overcast skies and minimal precipitation, and re-check the Higher Summits forecast before starting.
Last synthesized Oct 5, 7:20 AM
Planning a hike here this week?
Trailblazer adds the full 7-day summit forecast, the best day to go for every peak, and conditions for each route up.
Trail: Airline, Airline Cutoff, Valley Way, Osgood Trail, Star Lake Trail, Lowe’s Path, Israel Ridge Path, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Clay Loop, Cog Rail Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Eisenhower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Props to Mount Washington Observatory for the heads up about rime ice during this morning’s report. A few spots this morning on Madison, Adams had much more of it and then as the sun made it high enough in the sky, it started to disappear. Trails were dry all the way to Eisenhower and then it got a bit wet from there to the stairs near 302. Wind was moving good this morning and then calmed. Weather report was spot on. Thanks to Chad for the ride assist.”
Trail: Castle Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock
“That is one tough trail but still a great time”
Trail: Airline, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Clay Loop
Conditions: Dry Trail, Ice - Breakable Crust
“Stayed in Gorham the night before. It got down to just about 40 overnight, & as the morning continued it continued to drop to about 38. Perfect summer day in my opinion. Headed up airline just before 0500. This was uneventful in the dark. Not having hiked in about two weeks i felt clumsy compared to usual but not out of shape. Was headed up adams just as the sun was rising, the winds were somewhere between 20-30mph & chilly. As soon as i hit adams wasnt really sure what i wanted to do. The goal for the day was to get 7000 vertical gain and as always not acquire a new injury or irritate previous nagging injuries. The idea of descending airline sent me toward jefferson which was out of the wind anyway. Fairly uneventful and didnt see anyone until headed up jefferson. Made it to washington at 1115 & decided to take the cog (train) down. I regretted it but my knees didnt. My partner/girlfriend had taken the car in the morning for a race & was able to pick me up on base station road. The road walk had a lot of traffic but trees were turning and it was breezy. All in all an excellent day. I have been doing this stretch of mountains quite a bit over the last 60 days as they are a decent way to acquire vertical gain when the weather is fair.....”
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Today Oct 5 | Tomorrow Oct 6 | Wednesday Oct 7 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | rain | snow | fog | fog | fog | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 41° 35° | 35° 26° | 24° 21° | 22° 21° | 26° 23° | 39° 25° | 43° 40° | 43° 41° | 47° 43° |
| Chill °F | 21° | 6° | -2° | -2° | 3° | 8° | 32° | 29° | 31° |
| Wind mph | 36 | 47 | 54 | 54 | 44 | 30 | 15 | 32 | 44 |
| Gust mph est. | 58 | 66 | 76 | 76 | 62 | 48 | 21 | 51 | 62 |
| Storm risk | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | 0.1 | 0.7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chance of precip | 38% | 29% | 6% | 5% | 6% | - | 1% | 1% | 4% |
| Freezing ft | 4,894 ft | 2,715 ft | 10,055 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | clear | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 2 | 4 | — | 1 | 2 | — | 3 | 5 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Today Oct 5 | Tomorrow Oct 6 | Wednesday Oct 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 5,712 ft | 35/41° 36 | 21/22° 54 | 40/43° 15 |
| 5,000 ft | 39/44° 33 | 22/24° 52 | 40/44° 10 |
| 4,100 ft | 42/46° 30 | 24/25° 47 | 40/42° 8 |
| 3,300 ft | 46/48° 24 | 27/28° 39 | 39/44° 8 |
| 2,500 ft | 49/51° 18 | 30/31° 28 | 35/49° 6 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 51/52° 16 | 32/33° 23 | 36/50° 5 |
4 more days of forecast: plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
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76 mph
Summit gusts
Plan a below-treeline hike
Daytime gusts near 76 mph above treeline. Pick a sheltered route or another day.
21°F
Summit low
Microspikes
Summit lows near 21°F, so expect ice on rock and the upper trail.
-2°F
Wind chill
The rest of the list: Winter gear guide · How I pick gear
Conditions synthesized from: NWS Higher Summits Forecast, NOAA Open-Meteo, Mount Washington Observatory, NETC Trip Reports, NOHRSC Snow Depth, Mt. Washington Avalanche Center, USGS Stream Levels, OpenWeather Air Quality.
AI-generated from public data. Always verify conditions before heading out — backcountry weather can change quickly.
Third highest peak with dramatic Castellated Ridge and spectacular views. Often combined with Adams or Washington for a traverse.
Elevation
5,712 ft
Range
Presidential
Rank
#3 of 48
Difficulty
Very Difficult
Coordinates
44.3042, -71.3167
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7 incidents on file · 5 fatal · drawn from NH Fish and Game releases and regional reporting
Cynthia Krum, a 65-year-old from South Portland, Maine
On August 9, 2026, Cynthia Krum, 65, slipped and fell from a rock while traversing the Link Trail on the north side of Mt. Jefferson, sustaining a leg injury that left her unable to walk. Her daughter called 911, and a rescue team of 3 Conservation Officers and 34 volunteers carried her out 1.6 miles to the Caps Ridge Trailhead. She was transported by ambulance to Littleton Regional Hospital.
60-year-old Alain Dion and 46-year-old Nadine Dion of Quebec, Canada
Two Canadian hikers on the Caps Ridge Trail to Mt. Jefferson became lost, ran out of water, and grew tired on July 24, 2024. After an initial 911 call around 5:40 p.m., they attempted to self-rescue but called again at 8:58 p.m. when one became ill and they could not continue. Three Conservation Officers responded and assisted the hikers down to their vehicle, providing food, water, and headlamps.
63-year-old from Bridgton, ME
Gregory Larson, 63, collapsed of cardiac arrest near the summit of Mount Jefferson on the Caps Ridge Trail on August 29, 2014 while hiking with the Denmark Mountain Hikers group. Companions — many trained in wilderness first aid — performed CPR for about two and a half hours. A National Guard helicopter hoisted him out, but he died during the rescue effort.
20-year-old UNH student from Saunderstown, RI
Derek Tinkham, 20, attempted a winter northern Presidential traverse with Jeremy Haas on January 15, 1994 in a forecast extreme cold-and-wind event. Per the American Alpine Club, 'The temperature on the summit of Mount Washington the night Jeremy Haas arrived there was -42° F, and the winds were gusting up to 100 mph.' Underdressed and carrying sleeping bags rated only to -10°F, Tinkham succumbed near Jefferson's summit; Haas left him in a bivouac and crawled to the summit observatory, surviving with severe frostbite. The pair had passed trails to the heated Gray Knob cabin.
56-year-old from Burlington, VT
Basil Goodridge, 56, died of a heart attack on the Castle Trail on Mount Jefferson in March 1986.
27-year-old from Roslindale, MA
Louis Carl Haberland, 27, died of exposure on the Caps Ridge Trail on Mount Jefferson in October 1941.
55-year-old from Salem, MA
Harry A. Wheeler, 55, died of a heart attack on the Caps Ridge Trail on Mount Jefferson in July 1937.