2nd Annual Snow Thread for the Mountains

[NavarreDon]

& as the snow quits the temp starts retreating again. Down to 5.0°......hope the snow on the ground helps us go negative! As Jason said I would hate to waste this. Congrats on already being there 85.

[SnoJoe]

Just went to -6.4. Think I might crank up the pressure washer and go play for a while. 

[Met1985]

& as the snow quits the temp starts retreating again. Down to 5.0°......hope the snow on the ground helps us go negative! As Jason said I would hate to waste this. Congrats on already being there 85.

Thanks Don! Congrats on getting some more snow. It should help with getting the temps down even further. Down to -5.

 

Just went to -6.4. Think I might crank up the pressure washer and go play for a while. 

Nice take pics so we can see your masterpiece.

[Marion_NC_WX]

I moved to West Asheville. I would bet, though, that they had some snow out that way.  Erwin boys are interesting this year... just pedal to the medal from the opening tip.

 

 

I didn't know you moved into the big city...haha!

Given the fact that extreme cold is a big factor in the decision to close schools...I will be interested to see if Dr. Baldwin would put the  brakes on any extra-curricular activities as well (i.e. basketball)

[K4CF]

Hopefully I've bottomed out at -6^oF right now...NW wind @ 5 mph...and still getting light snow!  Roan, Unaka, and Iron mtns are still whited out at this time with isolated reports of 8" in the Buladean community.  I've picked up another inch overnight here in the valley.  NC 197 and NC 226 are snow covered again this morning...NW wind must be wringing out moisture with temps this cold...unbelievable event

[NavarreDon]

Hopefully I've bottomed out at -6^oF right now...NW wind @ 5 mph...and still getting light snow!  Roan, Unaka, and Iron mtns are still whited out at this time with isolated reports of 8" in the Buladean community.  I've picked up another inch overnight here in the valley.  NC 197 and NC 226 are snow covered again this morning...NW wind must be wringing out moisture with temps this cold...unbelievable event

 

What was your total for snow?

[Met1985]

Hopefully I've bottomed out at -6^oF right now...NW wind @ 5 mph...and still getting light snow!  Roan, Unaka, and Iron mtns are still whited out at this time with isolated reports of 8" in the Buladean community.  I've picked up another inch overnight here in the valley.  NC 197 and NC 226 are snow covered again this morning...NW wind must be wringing out moisture with temps this cold...unbelievable event

Congrats man. We bottomed out at -12F. The way the wind was coming in over Haywood it cut the moisture to just the northern most parts of the county and left the rest of the county clear. Pretty amazing at this setup. I have heard of the same up in my county. Some isolated areas receiving more than 6 inches.

[Met1985]

It does seem like we are getting what is called diamond dust falling from the clear sky this morning. So cold the air is being wrung out of all moisture.

[Met1985]

Wow pretty amazing as soon as the sun came up behind the mountain is really started snowing harder. Surfaces are beginning to get a covering on them know. Nice little phenomena.

[SnoJoe]

Bottomed out at -11.3. Like the others, snowing with clear skies. Another inch over night for a 5 inch total. Weather station recorded a wind chill of -32.2 last night between 2 am and 3 am.

[K4CF]

What was your total for snow?

Just over 4"....thats a best estimate trying to average out the wind blown yard, drifts, and sheltered area...I have a neighbor out this way who is a trained spotter for public service and he recorded 5".  I'm at a relatively low elevation when looking at average terrain here and I'm located on a knoll in the middle of a creek and river basin.

[Hvward]

12z 4km high res nam bufkit showing zr signals for Thursday into Friday.  Personally I hope this trends warm because the last thing we need after this cold is a zr event.  The gfs thinks it will only be a rain event with temps being to high to cause any major problems.

[K4CF]

Mitchell Co. Schools closed on Wednesday, January 8

[FLweather]

Bottomed out at -11.3. Like the others, snowing with clear skies. Another inch over night for a 5 inch total. Weather station recorded a wind chill of -32.2 last night between 2 am and 3 am.

 

 

It does seem like we are getting what is called diamond dust falling from the clear sky this morning. So called the air is being wrung out of all moisture.

 

 

Thats incredible and insane.

[Met1985]

I stated it a few times this weekend, but snow potential in the mountains looks worse than the last event and gets worse with each model run. I'm currently 57 degrees here just southwest of AVL, significantly warmer than any model output. Models slowing down the front and moisture is scant behind it, including upslope areas. Personally, I believe 1-2" for Buncombe county is way too high, and would go .1-.3"; a dusting at best. Upslope continues to look weak, if the models have the moisture progged correctly. 2-4" in these favored areas.

Tracker you were dead on with the flow not being true NW flow. Seemed like down here it came in more NW but then came around to the West which really shut off the snow here in Haywood. Great analysis this week for this event.

[HurricaneTracker]

I stated it a few times this weekend, but snow potential in the mountains looks worse than the last event and gets worse with each model run. I'm currently 57 degrees here just southwest of AVL, significantly warmer than any model output. Models slowing down the front and moisture is scant behind it, including upslope areas. Personally, I believe 1-2" for Buncombe county is way too high, and would go .1-.3"; a dusting at best. Upslope continues to look weak, if the models have the moisture progged correctly. 2-4" in these favored areas.

Tracker you were dead on with the flow not being true NW flow. Seemed like down here it came in more NW but then came around to the West which really shut off the snow here in Haywood. Great analysis this week for this event.

Thanks! If you like snow, and most of us here do, it was a real let down with all the cold air and no moisture. Almost too cold, really, as the shallow cold was just too dry for good upslope.

Onto the next one...

Sent from my steam-powered printing press.

[Met1985]

Thanks! If you like snow, and most of us here do, it was a real let down with all the cold air and no moisture. Almost too cold, really, as the shallow cold was just too dry for good upslope. Onto the next one... Sent from my steam-powered printing press.

Ya on to the next one. Looks like we may not have to wait long hopefully for the next one.

[MikeGold]

There was balloon/soundings taken during this latest event by UNC Asheville.

 

http://www.atms.unca.edu/sempe/rt_sempe1314.html

 

I think it was done at Poga Mtn.

 

Just a few observations...lots of wind shear in the lower levels was evident which isn't good for banded structures.  There was some snow growth in clouds but the air quickly became unsaturated in this region so not the best and the moisture wasn't that deep going to about 6000 feet elevation. (Probably explains why the Smokies are blocking almost all the moisture from reaching my mtn top at 6100 feet.) Still, the parameters were good enough to produce some decent snows in the favored areas even if the unfavored areas were left out in the cold so to speak.

 

 

 

 

[Hvward]

Thanks! If you like snow, and most of us here do, it was a real let down with all the cold air and no moisture. Almost too cold, really, as the shallow cold was just too dry for good upslope.

Onto the next one...

Sent from my steam-powered printing press.

Yeah man got to hand it to you, from those maps friday night it looked like a true snow hit but you continued to say cold after moisture. Thanks for the lesson.

[NavarreDon]

Down to 4.3° in Weaverville this am. Noticed we are colder than the Boone obs site. Wonder if there is a inversion & with our snow cover we went low. KAVL is about the same as Boone temp wise but I am guessing they have no snow cover to aid in cooling.

[SnoJoe]

Down to 4.3° in Weaverville this am. Noticed we are colder than the Boone obs site. Wonder if there is a inversion & with our snow cover we went low. KAVL is about the same as Boone temp wise but I am guessing they have no snow cover to aid in cooling.

 

Temps here have been rising all night. I'm at a balmy 18.8.

[NavarreDon]

Temps here have been rising all night. I'm at a balmy 18.8.

 

Dang Joe, you got the grill out & the sun tan lotion on?

[SnoJoe]

As you can see here, most of the higher elevations are warmer.

 

http://mitchellweather.com/Regional+Roundup/

[SnoJoe]

Dang Joe, you got the grill out & the sun tan lotion on?

 

I going out to play in the sprinkler in a little bit.

[Met1985]

Wow what a temp rise Snojoe. We ended up back down at 0F this morning. Thanks for the feedback Mike.

[nchighcountrywx]

As always, up top gets the cold first and loses it first 

[nchighcountrywx]

Great article from Ray at Raysweather on the History of Southern Appalachains Cold

 

 

http://www.averyweather.com/BrrrCold

 

Brrr Cold in the Southern Appalachains!

Location

Low Temp 1/7/2014

Previous Record for the Date

Top Ten Coldest Days

Waynesville

-4

6, 1940

1.    -22.0, 1985-01-21

2.    -16.0, 1970-01-09

3.    -16.0, 1958-02-18

4.    -15.0, 1958-02-17

5.    -14.0, 1986-01-28

6.    -14.0, 1899-02-14

7.    -13.0, 1996-02-05

8.    -13.0, 1970-01-10

9.    -13.0, 1970-01-08

10.   -12.0, 1966-01-31

Asheville

-1

5, 1970

1.    -16.0, 1985-01-21

2.    -13.0, 1985-01-20

3.    -7.0, 1983-12-25

4.    -7.0, 1966-01-30

5.    -6.0, 1982-01-17

6.    -6.0, 1982-01-11

7.    -6.0, 1982-01-10

8.    -5.0, 1994-01-19

9.    -5.0, 1983-12-24

10. -5.0, 1977-01-17

Mt Mitchell

(data since 1980)

-19

-3, 2004

1.    -34.0, 1985-01-21

2.    -24.0, 1986-01-28

3.    -22.0, 1982-01-11

4.    -21.0, 1982-01-10

5.    -19.0, 1983-12-25

6.    -18.0, 1994-01-19

7.    -18.0, 1985-01-20

8.    -16.0, 1994-01-16

9.    -16.0, 1991-02-16

10. -16.0, 1985-12-26

Spruce Pine

-5

4, 1958

1.    -16, 1985-01-21

2.    -14, 1962-12-13

3.    -13, 1962-12-14

4.    -12, 1962-01-11

5.    -12, 1985-01-22

6.    -10, 1970-01-22

7.    -10, 1981-01-31

8.    -10, 1987-01-27

9.    -10, 1989-12-24

10. -9, 1951-02-03

Banner Elk

-12

-3, 1968

1. -31, 1985-01-21

2. -26, 1982-01-10

3. -21, 1917-12-30

4. -20, 1982-01-11

5. -20, 1983-12-25

6. -20, 1985-01-20

7. -18, 1989-12-2

8. -18, 1962-12-13

9. -17, 1963-01-24

10. -16, 1966-01-30

Beech Mtn

(data since 1991)

-18

-2, 2004

1.     -15.0, 1994-01-19

2.     -15.0, 1994-01-16

3.     -13.0, 1996-02-05

4.     -13.0, 1996-02-04

5.     -11.0, 1994-01-15

6.     -10.0, 2009-01-17

7.     -10.0, 2004-12-21

8.     -10.0, 2004-12-20

9.     -10.0, 1997-01-17

10. -10.0, 1996-03-10

Blowing Rock

-9

3, 1988

1.    -34.0, 1985-01-21

2.    -24.0, 1986-01-28

3.    -22.0, 1982-01-11

4.    -21.0, 1982-01-10

5.    -19.0, 1983-12-25

6.    -18.0, 1994-01-19

7.    -18.0, 1985-01-20

8.    -16.0, 1994-01-16

9.    -16.0, 1991-02-16

10. -16.0, 1985-12-26

Boone

-8

6, 1988

1.    -24.0, 1985-01-21

2.    -15.0, 1994-01-19

3.    -14.0, 1994-01-20

4.    -14.0, 1985-01-20

5.    -12.0, 1994-01-18

6.    -12.0, 1982-01-11

7.    -11.0, 1994-01-16

8.    -11.0, 1989-12-23

9.    -11.0, 1983-12-25

10. -11.0, 1982-01-17

Jefferson

-6

4, 1919

1.    -20.0, 1917-12-30

2.    -15.0, 1987-01-27

3.    -15.0, 1970-01-10

4.    -13.0, 1988-01-11

5.    -13.0, 1970-02-04

6.    -12.0, 1985-01-21

7.    -11.0, 1985-01-20

8.    -11.0, 1982-01-11

9.    -10.0, 1977-01-17

10. -10.0, 1966-01-30

Galax

-3

5, 1999

1.    -18.0, 1985-01-21

2.    -13.0, 1996-02-05

3.    -13.0, 1996-02-04

4.    -11.0, 1987-01-27

5.    -10.0, 1977-01-17

6.    -9.0, 1993-03-15

7.    -9.0, 1985-01-20

8.    -8.0, 1994-01-19

9.    -8.0, 1994-01-16

10. -8.0, 1989-12-23

Hickory

5

10, 1970

1.    -8.0, 1985-01-21

2.    -3.0, 1985-01-20

3.    -3.0, 1977-01-17

4.    0.0, 1994-01-19

5.    1.0, 1962-12-13

6.    2.0, 1996-02-05

7.    2.0, 1983-12-25

8.    2.0, 1966-01-30

9.    2.0, 1962-12-12

10. 2.0, 1958-02-18

Morganton

5

8, 1912

1.     -10.0, 1917-12-30

2.     -9.0, 1985-01-21

3.     -4.0, 1942-01-11

4.     -4.0, 1901-12-21

5.     -3.0, 1962-12-13

6.     -3.0, 1940-01-26

7.     -1.0, 1996-02-05

8.     -1.0, 1994-01-19

9.     -1.0, 1994-01-16

10. -1.0, 1989-12-24

Lenoir

4

2, 1912

1. -18, 1917-12-30

2. -9, 1901-12-20

3. -7, 1901-12-21

4. -7, 1985-01-21

5. -6, 1917-12-13

6. -6, 1918-01-13

7. -5, 1917-12-14

8. -5, 1970-01-09

9. -4, 1942-01-11

10. -4, 1962-12-13

North Wilkesboro

3

7, 1969

1.     -9.0, 1985-01-21

2.     -7.0, 1985-01-22

3.     -7.0, 1977-01-18

4.     -7.0, 1977-01-17

5.     -6.0, 1996-02-05

6.     -6.0, 1996-02-04

7.     -5.0, 1966-02-01

8.     -5.0, 1966-01-31

9.     -5.0, 1958-02-18

10.  -3.0, 1977-01-12

Mt Airy

3

9, 1912

1.     -10.0, 1985-01-21

2.     -4.0, 1977-01-17

3.     -3.0, 1996-02-06

4.     -3.0, 1996-02-05

5.     -2.0, 1994-01-20

6.     -2.0, 1994-01-19

7.     -2.0, 1970-01-09

8.     -1.0, 1994-01-16

9.     -1.0, 1987-01-27

10. -1.0, 1983-12-25

[nchighcountrywx]

Grandfather Mountain on the Coldest Morning So Far of the 2014 Winter

Tuesday 07JAN14

 

High Country Press Article

 

http://www.hcpress.com/news/temperatures-plummet-atop-grandfather-mountain-lowest-wind-chill-58-degrees-at-5-a-m.html

 

Jan. 8, 2013. Temperatures took a nosedive Monday and Tuesday on Grandfather Mountain, reaching a low of -17 degrees early Tuesday morning.

Equipment mounted at the Mile High Swinging Bridge, which records temperatures every minute and on the hour, recorded air temperatures of -17 degrees at 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. Tuesday. The bridge is located at an elevation of 5,280 feet.

 

The lowest recorded wind chill was -58 degrees at 5 a.m. Tuesday, according to the data, and the wind chill still remained around -36 degrees as of 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

 

The highest reported wind speed overnight was 86.7 mph, recorded at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday. The all-time record wind speed in 58 years of weather observations is 120.7 mph.

 

Due to extreme conditions at the top of the mountain, the equipment temporarily could not keep up with the forming rime ice and produced an erroneous reading of -103.1 wind chill overnight.

 

Grandfather Mountain did not reach its coldest temperature ever recorded, which was -32 degrees on Jan. 21, 1985.

 

Grandfather Mountain was closed to visitors Monday and Tuesday

 

Our GFMTN Friend Jesse Pope took this picture from the summit at sunrise Tuesday Morning.

 

Thanks Jesse!!

 

[NavarreDon]

Breathtaking pic of Grandfather! Here is a small lake in our hood.

 

[Met1985]

Beautiful pics guys.