Buckethead

Well, leaf season is wrapping up in the high country. Shot this while walking the dogs at lunch.

12K name and GFS both suggest some backend flurries are possible in the favored border areas overnight Thursday into early Friday morning. And this weekend looks downright cold.

Got out and enjoyed the foliage one more time before the wind comes in tonight. Went to Spivey Gap and Green Mountain along the Cane River. Was not disappointed!

Possible 50+ mph gusts tomorrow night above 3500' with the rain. That'll strip a lot of leaves for sure. Weather Outlook National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC 457 AM EDT Fri Oct 25 2019 NCZ033-048>052-058-059-260900- Avery-Madison-Yancey-Mitchell-Swain-Haywood-Graham-Northern Jackson- 457 AM EDT Fri Oct 25 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for western North Carolina. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Hazardous weather is not expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. Gusty southeasterly winds are expected ahead of a cold front across the ridgetops of North Carolina mountains near the Tennessee border Saturday afternoon through Saturday night. Gusts could be as high as 50 to 60 mph, especially above 5000 ft in the Smokies and Balsams.

First, amazing pics yesterday. Yeah, 3-4000' is really filling in with color in Yancey and Madison Counties. Took this at McKinney Gap this afternoon with my phone.

It is a perfect October day in the high country! Here's one of the shots I grabbed in the neighborhood today. I noticed that a lot of the reds that just popped up a few days ago are already turning brown. That's okay, I've had my fill of leaf season...bring on the snow!

Clouds kept the view at my house (on the mountain the dslr is pointing at) obscured for most of today, but just a mile away it cleared up nicely! Turned out to be a really nice fall day with temps in the mid 50's. The leaf color is really beginning to accelerate down to 3000' up here.

All of this cold rain is great news. I can hear the streams rushing in the neighborhood tonight. That's been absent for a couple of months.

The GFS still has the first flakes of the season around next weekend. It'll be interesting to see if there's support from other models in the next few days.

A breezy 31° this morning at 4400' in Wolf.

I was just about to add that I've dropped from 56 to 48 in the past 45 minutes. The fireplace will be lit when I get home today!

Pulled thus off my dashcam as well about an hour ago. This is in Wolf around 3800'. I'm noticing a lot more red in the canopy today, especially above 4000'.

It was 50° when I left my house at 7 am. By the time I got to Burnsville (1600' lower) it was 35° with frost in places again. I love those inversions! Pulled this off my dashcam from the ride this morning.

36° and patchy frost this morning around Burnsville in the valley.

Yeah, that's the price range...and up. Occasionally you can find a really good deal up here too. And as long as you have 4wd the snow isnt any problem up here. We have road maintenance staff that do a great job plowing.

Here is how the leaves are progressing in my yard at 4400'. I'm noticing probably 10% of the trees have already browned and lost a majority of their leaves here in NW Yancey County. Sorry it's a crappy phone pic, my Nikon went in the river today.

Last year our first flake's were on 11/3 and 10/27 the year before.

I do believe this is the first fantasy range high elevation nwf slush of the season showing up on the 12z GFS. Not holding my breath, just nice to see signs of the seasons progressing.

If any of you want to increase your snow chances there are several homes for sale in my neighborhood. We get some pretty decent nwf events.

I live in Wolf Laurel, right along the state line at 4360'. My wife works in downtown Asheville and it takes her 35-40 minutes to get there. Were about 15 minutes from I-26. We get our fair share of snow (check my signature) and good nwfs. Lots of homes for sale in my neighborhood...and we have a ski resort too...and the AT! You might want to check out Burnsville and Mars Hill as well. Weaverville is nice but it's in Buncombe County and on the expensive side.

I'm not too concerned about a brownout. Really starting to see some vivid colors up here in Wolf.

Picked up about .3" of rain this evening and it's still raining. Not much but it's enough to knock the dust and pollen down a little.

It would be really nice to smell petrichor today. Fingers crossed it holds together.

It's still a little spotty up to 5500' here along the border but I'd say at least half of the trees are starting to show signs of changing now. I'm hoping the warmth doesn't cause them to brown out.