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2nd Annual Snow Thread for the Mountains


Met1985

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Interesting setup this time in buncombe Co. Just drove from my parents house in enka back to my apt downtown and I went from blizzard conditions to dry pavement and clear skies. There are main roads covered in snow on one side of the county and dry pavement on the other! This is why we mountain folk love the weather/snow so much cause you just never know.

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Mt LeConte only picked up 4.5" of snow yesterday for a total of 6" on the ground. Interestingly low. Looking at the previous BUFKIT soundings..it showed moisture really not reaching about 850 mb if that suggesting that maybe the higher peaks were actually above most of the snow clouds yesterday?

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Lol well I guess just the way the bands came in. We just got hit all day and again tonight we are getting rocked.

 

Met, looking closely at the SAT image this morning..it does appear that there was a band of heavier snow that went through Haywood County..and you can trace it all the way back into Kentucky. I suspect the rather narrow Lake Michigan moisture plume caused the band to be where it was. The Jackson/Haywood County line seemed to be were it ended.  My own mtn ridge marked the very last snowshowers/flurries before they dried up completely just to the South of the mtn. Still 3" inches isn't too bad a November storm.

 

Edit: One other possibility..because of the lower inversion heights..wind/snowclouds..followed Interstate 40/River SE into Haywood county taking advantage of the lower elevations at the TN border to sneak a beefy snow band further SE than other areas.

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Congrats '85 thats what I call bitter cold. That snow coverage and reduced friction cant help the winds either.

 

Thanks. With the wind dying down and the snow on the ground I thought we might have a chance at seeing some very cold readings this morning.

Met, looking closely at the SAT image this morning..it does appear that there was a band of heavier snow that went through Haywood County..and you can trace it all the way back into Kentucky. I suspect the rather narrow Lake Michigan moisture plume caused the band to be where it was. The Jackson/Haywood County line seemed to be were it ended.  My own mtn ridge marked the very last snowshowers/flurries before they dried up completely just to the South of the mtn. Still 3" inches isn't too bad a November storm.

 

Edit: One other possibility..because of the lower inversion heights..wind/snowclouds..followed Interstate 40/River SE into Haywood county taking advantage of the lower elevations at the TN border to sneak a beefy snow band further SE than other areas.

Ya Mike this is the first Thanksgiving I can remember having snow on the ground. That is interesting about the river because it is right below us at the foot on the mountain pretty much.

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Thanks for the insight Mike, I think there is merit to both observations. It seems when we have excessive moisture available, that area really cashes in.

 

Looking at the NWS snowfall map..now I'm ticked! :sled:  Their map even has the heaviest snowfall right over me although I believe that is based on 6" that fell at Soco Gap..no more than 3 miles away and 3000 feet lower down.  I think perhaps the wind crossing the Maggie Valley did me in.  Only a slight change to a more NW direction might have made the difference. Last season-it dropped more than 75 inches of mostly upslope snow so I know it can do it. However, I have noted that Soco gap really is a snow magnet..and I have watched the snow clouds from there narrowly miss me and hit Waterrock Knob instead. It seems that convection likes to follow the ridge line along the Balsams mtns as it heads SE. The subrange on the Eastern side of the ridge..the Cataloochee Divide probably is what is creating downsloping for me in this case.

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Very impressed with the recent air mass and the ground temps as we still have several places around Haywood county that have snow on the ground.

 

Looks like it be a quiet 2 weeks coming up for the mtns unfortunately despite most of the rest of the country getting dumping on. Lots of rain but not much else.

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Looks like it be a quiet 2 weeks coming up for the mtns unfortunately despite most of the rest of the country getting dumping on. Lots of rain but not much else.

Ya I am liking the general pattern for the country but the SE ridge is looking stout and if we do not cash in this month then something is very wrong. I like the look of some blocking taking place in about a week.

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Mike or 85, either of you think the models are having trouble handling the Continental Arctic nature of the upcoming airmass or will the warm nosing be to strong in the mountains to even matter?

 

Every model agrees this will be a non-event for the NC mtns although there should be few hours of snow showers Monday night as the storm system exits.  It doesn't even look close so even if the models aren't properly handled the shallow cold air-they probably are handling it correctly at 850mb and there it looks positively toasty.

 

EDIT..New NAM looks a little colder with 850 not far from freezing. However, the whole sounding shows basically above freezing to 680 mb. So it a nutshell-slim chances of ice but no chance of snow until the very end of the storm.

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Looks like the Northern mountains are going to get in on some sleet and freezing rain this weekend with winter storm watches out. Going to be a nasty weekend.

 

Yeah 85' I would hate to have plan's in App this weekend.  I read on the uncc basketball message board that some of our fans are heading up to App Sunday for the game... Should be interesting

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Yep temps warmed substantially this morning to 36 degrees. 

 

 

Been a crazy amount of rain up top (about 1 foot in the last 30 days.) and seems like gales are starting to hit the mountain every 3 days or so. Wind storm Friday night caused some tree damage.  Another wind storm tomorrow morning possible with some hurricane force gusts suggested by the NAM. Lots of weather..but not really much Winter to talk about.

 

The GFS suggests a very high elevation(5500 feet+) snowfall possible this coming Saturday..in the 6 to 10" range.  Euro not on board but worth watching how this possible scenario develops.

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Been a crazy amount of rain up top (about 1 foot in the last 30 days.) and seems like gales are starting to hit the mountain every 3 days or so. Wind storm Friday night caused some tree damage. Another wind storm tomorrow morning possible with some hurricane force gusts suggested by the NAM. Lots of weather..but not really much Winter to talk about.

The GFS suggests a very high elevation(5500 feet+) snowfall possible this coming Saturday..in the 6 to 10" range. Euro not on board but worth watching how this possible scenario develops.

welcome to the rain forest of sw nc mike. What got you interested in this area?
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