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April 2013 OBS


WilkesboroDude

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Brief video clip taken from my observation tower at 6100 feet elevation on top of Mt. Lyn Lowry on the morning of April 19 near Balsam, NC.   It was about 49 degrees with gale force winds and wind blown fog/rain. Very typical mtn top weather.  About 43" of rain has already fallen this year based on a nearby COCORAHS report which is located about 1.6 miles to the NE at a lower elevation.


 


 



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Brief video clip taken from my observation tower at 6100 feet elevation on top of Mt. Lyn Lowry on the morning of April 19 near Balsam, NC.   It was about 49 degrees with gale force winds and wind blown fog/rain. Very typical mtn top weather.  About 43" of rain has already fallen this year based on a nearby COCORAHS report which is located about 1.6 miles to the NE at a lower elevation.

 

 

 

Nice. Were in Balsam do you live?

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Nice. Were in Balsam do you live?I

 

I own property on Distant Ridge Road in the Hi-Mountain Subdivision(purportedly the highest elevation subdivision in Eastern N.A...I'm at the very top of it.)

 

http://www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH2#JnE9LmRpc3RhbnQlMmJyaWRnZSUyYnJvYWQlMjUyYyUyYmJhbHNhbSUyNTJjJTJiJTJibmMlN2Vzc3QuMCU3ZXBnLjEmYmI9NjEuNzAwNjYxODQ5MDUyMSU3ZS00My44NjA1MTk0MDklN2UxNS41NjAyOTgzMjkzOTg1JTdlLTEyNS4yNDcyMzgxNTk=

 

If you click on bird's eye view and zoom in-you should be able to find the observation tower.

 

I actually live in Michigan but use this property mostly for weather watching. The 25 minute drive to the top is like driving from N.C. to Canada is just a few miles. Nothing short of amazing. I spent years looking for good spot and finally found this place last Fall. I believe it averages around 80 to 90" of rain(it is considered a temperate rain forest-a spruce/fir ecosystem), 75" of snow, lots of rime ice..upwards of 250 days of year of at least some fog or undercast..100 mph winds every year, a 3 to 4 month growing season, and experiences some rather spectacular thunderstorms that completely engulf the mountain top. (The weather is similar to the reporting station at 6200 feet on Mt. Mitchell.) Not bad for N.C!!

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I own property on Distant Ridge Road in the Hi-Mountain Subdivision(purportedly the highest elevation subdivision in Eastern N.A...I'm at the very top of it.)

 

http://www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH2#JnE9LmRpc3RhbnQlMmJyaWRnZSUyYnJvYWQlMjUyYyUyYmJhbHNhbSUyNTJjJTJiJTJibmMlN2Vzc3QuMCU3ZXBnLjEmYmI9NjEuNzAwNjYxODQ5MDUyMSU3ZS00My44NjA1MTk0MDklN2UxNS41NjAyOTgzMjkzOTg1JTdlLTEyNS4yNDcyMzgxNTk=

 

If you click on bird's eye view and zoom in-you should be able to find the observation tower.

 

I actually live in Michigan but use this property mostly for weather watching. The 25 minute drive to the top is like driving from N.C. to Canada is just a few miles. Nothing short of amazing. I spent years looking for good spot and finally found this place last Fall. I believe it averages around 80 to 90" of rain(it is considered a temperate rain forest-a spruce/fir ecosystem), 75" of snow, lots of rime ice..upwards of 250 days of year of at least some fog or undercast..100 mph winds every year, a 3 to 4 month growing season, and experiences some rather spectacular thunderstorms that completely engulf the mountain top. (The weather is similar to the reporting station at 6200 feet on Mt. Mitchell.) Not bad for N.C!!

Wow awsome! I am looking at some land in the Balsams in Haywwod county. Up in Villages of Plot Creek upwards of around 4000+ feet.

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Wow awsome! I am looking at some land in the Balsams in Haywwod county. Up in Villages of Plot Creek upwards of around 4000+ feet.

Let me know how that works out. The Plott Balsams mtns are great spot if you enjoy the weather!

 

(Here's a pic from February after an ice storm.)

post-9361-0-75054600-1366805916_thumb.jp

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I own property on Distant Ridge Road in the Hi-Mountain Subdivision(purportedly the highest elevation subdivision in Eastern N.A...I'm at the very top of it.)

 

http://www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH2#JnE9LmRpc3RhbnQlMmJyaWRnZSUyYnJvYWQlMjUyYyUyYmJhbHNhbSUyNTJjJTJiJTJibmMlN2Vzc3QuMCU3ZXBnLjEmYmI9NjEuNzAwNjYxODQ5MDUyMSU3ZS00My44NjA1MTk0MDklN2UxNS41NjAyOTgzMjkzOTg1JTdlLTEyNS4yNDcyMzgxNTk=

 

If you click on bird's eye view and zoom in-you should be able to find the observation tower.

 

I actually live in Michigan but use this property mostly for weather watching. The 25 minute drive to the top is like driving from N.C. to Canada is just a few miles. Nothing short of amazing. I spent years looking for good spot and finally found this place last Fall. I believe it averages around 80 to 90" of rain(it is considered a temperate rain forest-a spruce/fir ecosystem), 75" of snow, lots of rime ice..upwards of 250 days of year of at least some fog or undercast..100 mph winds every year, a 3 to 4 month growing season, and experiences some rather spectacular thunderstorms that completely engulf the mountain top. (The weather is similar to the reporting station at 6200 feet on Mt. Mitchell.) Not bad for N.C!!

 

Welcome to the forum &.....Wow sounds like a awesome place you have. Should be some great obs from that site.

 

We got a whopping .04" from the line that just moved thru.

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AVERY-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-BUNCOMBE-GRAHAM-
NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON-SOUTHERN JACKSON-TRANSYLVANIA-HENDERSON-
CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-BURKE MOUNTAINS-MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-
RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS-POLK MOUNTAINS-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NEWLAND...SPRUCE PINE...BRYSON CITY...
WAYNESVILLE...ASHEVILLE...SYLVA...FRANKLIN...BREVARD...
HENDERSONVILLE
320 PM EDT WED APR 24 2013

...FREEZE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY
MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED
A FREEZE WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT
THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING.

* LOCATIONS...VALLEYS AND HIGH MEADOWS ACROSS MUCH OF THE NORTH
  CAROLINA MOUNTAINS.

* TEMPERATURES...LOWS IN THE LOWER 30S.

* IMPACTS...FREEZING TEMPERATURES MAY DAMAGE SENSITIVE OUTDOOR
  PLANTS.

 

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Welcome to the forum &.....Wow sounds like a awesome place you have. Should be some great obs from that site.

 

We got a whopping .04" from the line that just moved thru.

 

Thanks! A local NC meterologist recommended this forum to me recently. I am looking forward to making observations at this site but it does present some difficulties.  I've almost been trapped there 3 times..once due to winds..another time due to an unexpected ice storm..and finally by a large snow drift blocking the road. If I would have been there in January-I would have been stuck for a few days by the 20 inches of rain that washed out the access road.

 

Taking simple weather observations with my garden variety weather instruments has been a dismal failure. Ice and wind have laughed at my efforts! I have already gone through a couple of rain gauges.  My next problem I plan to address is the building of a rain shield to improve catch in the rain gauge as the horizontal rain is simply missing it.(Most heavy rain events are when the wind is strong out of the SW..which is also the direction of highest wind exposure at that location.) I may try a couple of lengths of snow fence to see if that helps.  I need to go higher with my wind mast to avoid trees but don't really want to have wires all over the place.  At some point, I will have a professional grade weather station installed along with a webcam there but it is going to take time. Power is not turned on there.

 

There are 2 University research groups that have already expressed an interest in doing weather research on the mountain top in the near future. This location is just about the only place in NC above 6000 feet that you can access year round. The Blue Ridge Parkway, Clingman's Dome access road, Roan Mtn access, Mt. Mitchell access all closed in the Winter. Will be a lot of fun to see what develops with this.

 

Meantime, here is a summer pic..that road far below..is the Blue Ridge Parkway..how often have seen a pic of it from above looking down? :)

post-9361-0-05094300-1366886689_thumb.jp

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38.8 at the house this AM.  Gotta love it in late April!  The fescue lawn is quite enjoying the cool temps and rainy conditions.  I'm looking forward to a plethora of rain this coming weekend and next week:  it should take the pollen out of the air, keep the landscaping doing well, and keep the temperatures down to nice spring levels.  As long as we can put off summer, I'll be content.

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