North Carolina Mountain Dreams » weather

Record Low Temperature Tied at Grandfather Mountain – Constantly Updated High Country NC News Source

Gary Boyd — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:05:40 +0000

It has been a season of extremes for Grandfather Mountain.

Earlier in the month, the tourist attraction experienced record highs for two days in a row, but unseasonably cold weather tied the record for the daily low temperature in Wednesday.

The reading was taken at the official US Weather Service reporting station located next to the Mile High Swinging Bridge on Grandfather Mountain.

The temperature dipped to 18 degrees early in the morning tying the previous daily low record for the day set in 1968.

The all time lowest temperature ever recorded in October at Grandfather Mountain is 12 degrees on October 26th, back in 1962.

The storm also brought high winds and snow to the area.

GoBlueRidge.net – Record Low Temperature Tied at Grandfather Mountain – Constantly Updated High Country NC News Source.

Fall Color Report – Grandfather Mountain

Gary Boyd — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:14:29 +0000

I wish I was here…

View of Lost Cove on the south slopes of Grandfather Mountain:

Grab your sweater because the temperatures are falling Highs will be in the low fifties this weekend

Friday had lots of wind and rain, so most of the leaves from the trees above 4,000 feet are finding their way to the ground today. Grandfather remains an excellent leaf-looking destination, however, because you pass through color in all the lower elevations on your drive to Grandfather Mountain, and because Grandfather’s peaks make a great vantage point for looking out at the color changing in the valleys. Today’s photograph from Lost Cove illustrates that there is lots of green left in the valleys.

NC Highway 105 between Boone and Linville ranges from 3,000 to 4,000 feet in elevation. Trees in those slightly lower elevations are only now beginning to change color, which guarantees lots of lively leaf looking for the next 10 days.

Fall Color Report- Grandfather Mountain.

Before our trip last year, I always looked at these photo’s with a bit of skepticism. My corner of the world doesn’t have color changes like these…I learned just how wrong I was when we hit the Appalachians in early November of last year.

Here is the first “real fall” I ever saw…

Mountain Weather Dreams

Gary Boyd — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:00:59 +0000

I walked out of my house this morning before sunrise. It is garbage pickup day. With the wildlife population explosion we have had I don’t dare take the garbage out too early. When I stepped out on the porch the hot, humid air settled down on my shoulders like a load of bricks. When I made it back into the artificially cooled interior of our home I looked at the weather station on the wall…81° and the humidity was 86%.

After making my lunch to haul in to work, a couple of pieces of toasted ciabatta bread with jam and butter with my morning coffee as I fired up my email led to this report…

HOME
Currently (on Tue 5:53AM CDT from Pearland Regional Airport)
Clear Clear Temp: 82° (Heat Index 89°)
Dewpoint: 75°
Wind: S 5 MPH

VALLE CRUCIS
Currently (on Tue 6:44AM EDT from Ashe County Airport)
Clear Clear Temp: 52°
Dewpoint: 48°
Wind: Calm MPH

FLOYD, VA
Currently (on Tue 7:20AM EDT from Virginia Tech Airport)
Mist Mist Temp: 50°
Dewpoint: 48°
Wind: Calm MPH

Now…Do you understand why I dream of the Blue Ridge Mountains? Do you see that heat index at 5:53 in the morning? The middle of August and we still have months of this hot humid weather to go.

To top it all off, we are still in a drought situation here. We have a front (I refuse to call it a cold front) moving our way and all day long I’ve watched the rain vanish on the radar as it gets close…

So all you folks up on the Blue Ridge…Enjoy that beautiful weather. I wish I was having my morning coffee and email on the porch looking out on the morning fog rise from the valley…

The Cool Truth About October: Shorter Days, Longer Harvests – washingtonpost.com

Gary Boyd — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:50:00 +0000

This column from Barbara Damrosch came at a very good time. It reminds me why I loved fall as a boy…The air is cooler but the overall feel is of warmth…

When T.S. Eliot wrote “April is the cruelest month,” he might have added, “October is seriously underrated.”

Consider those two months. We expect from both a temperature range midway between hot and cold, with unpredictable doses of either. But gardeners, especially, embrace April with exaggerated hope and cheer, oblivious to the imminent onset of blistering heat, drought and bolted lettuce. By October many edge wearily and even gratefully into the shadow of oncoming winter, forgetting to enjoy the gardening year’s best weather.

Source: The Cool Truth About October: Shorter Days, Longer Harvests – washingtonpost.com