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3rd Annual Snow Thread for the Mountains


Met1985

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TN 143 goes south up to the NC/Tn line at Carvers Gap and NC 261 comes up from the south to meet at the State Line.

 

TN DOT plows from one side and NC DOT plows up from the other side.   Sometimes one side is plowed and one side is not plowed.

 

Extreme caution is to be observed in this unpopulated area because you are up there above 6000' on your own with little if any cell signal whatsover.   As always, know what you are doing and travel up there in preparation that you could get stuck if don't have the proper 4wd raised vehicle.

 

It won't be this bad up there this weekend, but this picture from summittpost.org shows you what can occur up at Carvers Gaps.

 

4N0gCi0.jpg

 

 

http://www.summitpost.org/roan-mountain-snow/365778

 

Yikes, thanks for the tip. I think it's wise to get there and enjoy first hour of snow before getting off the peak.

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NWS Morristown TN

T5YBRT3.jpg

That almost looks like it's be better to head up to Mt Guyot via Snake Den Ridge. However there aren't many views there and that's a bit of a climb.

I still think odds are good at Mt Leconte but now I'm thinking they may not get as much as I previously thought.

Choices choices

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Looking forward to seeing some snow early on this winter.  Uncle just got a house in Sapphire NC (3200 feet at his location) 3-4 miles from Lake Toxaway.  Going to head up there from Atlanta tomorrow afternoon.  Sapphire seems to be right on the edge of seeing snow or maybe just some flurries.  Hoping the elevation above 3000 feet will help squeeze out at least an inch.  If not then I am looking at places nearby that may see some snow and the best bet would seem to be Balsam Gap which is 44 miles from there.  Happy Snow hunting everyone!  :)

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I'll likely be making a trip up to Beech Mtn Saturday morning, and I'm surprised no one has mentioned the ASU home football game Saturday. That will certainly be a fun one.... http://gif.co/o1gb.gif

Should be awesome! Welcome to mountains Georgia state :)

Wish I was heading to this one. Nothing like a snowy Fall Saturday in Boone!

We are going up on the 8th...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Looking forward to seeing some snow early on this winter. Uncle just got a house in Sapphire NC (3200 feet at his location) 3-4 miles from Lake Toxaway. Going to head up there from Atlanta tomorrow afternoon. Sapphire seems to be right on the edge of seeing snow or maybe just some flurries. Hoping the elevation above 3000 feet will help squeeze out at least an inch. If not then I am looking at places nearby that may see some snow and the best bet would seem to be Balsam Gap which is 44 miles from there. Happy Snow hunting everyone! :)

soco gap is a much better spot. It's not too far from balsam gap.
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Porters Creek may be too low in elevation. I'd go up Ramsey Cascades or Brushy Mountain until you hit any real snow

I think I'm sticking to Mt Leconte because finding a warm shelter is going to be impossible otherwise and I still have good odds of seeing a foot. The latest models are giving Knoxville a little snow in the morning too so that will be a nice drive.

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Yikes!, some pretty heady wording in GSP's afternoon afd.

 

.SHORT TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/...
DDHHMM
WRKSHT

AS OF 230 PM THURSDAY...12Z GUIDANCE PACKAGE REMAINS CONSISTENT IN
MOVING AN ANOMALOUS UPPER LOW RAPIDLY SE FROM THE GREAT LAKES INTO
THE CAROLINAS ON SAT. THIS LOW IS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 5 SD`S
BELOW NORMAL. SO WE DO NOT SEE THIS TYPE OF SYSTEM VERY OFTEN.

THUS...WE WILL BE ONGUARD IN REGARD TO THE UNEXPECTED. WITH THE
VERY GOOD RUN TO RUN MODEL CONSISTENCY.
..WE ARE CONFIDENT ENOUGH
TO GO AHEAD A UPGRADE THE WINTER STORM WATCH IN THE NC MOUNTAINS
TO A WARNING FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND SAT...EXCEPT FOR
BUNCOMBE...NORTHERN JACKSON AND GRAHAM COUNTIES WHERE A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED.

THE VERY POTENT COMPACT VORTMAX/CLOSED 500 MB LOW WILL INDUCE
CYCLOGENESIS EAST OF THE OUTER BANKS DURING THE DAY ON SAT... WITH A
DEFORMATION ZONE SETTING UP FROM CENTRAL VA/NC EXTENDING AS FAR WEST
AS THE I-77 CORRIDOR ON SAT. AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT MOVING ACROSS
THE AREA FRIDAY NIGHT WILL BRING A SURGE OF VERY COLD AIR WITH 850
MB TEMPS PLUMMETING TO -6 TO -8C ALONG THE TN LINE AND GENERALLY 0
TO -4C ACRS THE PIEDMONT. THE COLD TEMPS ALOFT ALONG ALONG WITH THE
RAPIDLY COOLING BOUNDARY LAYER WILL ALLOW RAIN TO CHANGE TO SNOW BY
MIDNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT IN THE MOUTNAINS...WITH A RAIN/SNOW MIX
SPREADING EASTWARD ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS INTO THE I-85 CORRIDOR
TOWARD SR ON SAT. IN THE MOUNTAINS...UPSLOPE FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO
PRODUCE SNOW SHOWERS INTO SAT EVENING. STORM TOTAL SNOW AMOUNTS IN
THE TN BORDER COUNTIES WILL BE ON THE ORDER OF 4-8 INCHES WITH
POSSIBLY AS MUCH AS 10 INCHES IN THE HIGHER PEAKS OF THE SMOKIES.
OTHER MOUNTAINS LOCATIONS WILL SEE ANYWHERE FROM A DUSTING TO UP TO
3 INCHES.


ON SATURDAY THE BOMBING LOW ALONG THE COAST WILL GENERATE STRONG
LLVL WINDS ON THE ORDER OF 40-50 KTS OUT OF THE NW. OUR WIND GUST
ALGORITHM HITS THE UPSTATE AND NE GA WITH THE HIGHEST GUSTS ON THE
ORDER OF 35 TO 45 MPH.
..WHICH WOULD BE BELOW HIGH WIND WATCH
CRITERIA. PRECIP ENDS FOR THE MOST PART BY SAT EVENING...EXCEPT FOR
SOME LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS IN THE NC MOUTNAINS ADJACENT TO TN.
CLEARING CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR SAT NIGHT BUT ATMOSPHERE MAY STAY
MIXED ENOUGH TO PREVENT WIDESPREAD FREEZING TEMPS OUTSIDE THE
MOUNTAINS...SO NO FREEZE WATCH FOR NOW. TEMPS STAY WELL BELOW CLIMO
FOR SUN EVEN WITH FULL SUNSHINE

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GSP drops a warning over 24 hours in advance. I'll take it.

 

Winter Storm Warning

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
343 PM EDT THU OCT 30 2014

...HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED OVER PORTIONS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA
MOUNTAINS FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...

.A STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO CROSS
THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS EARLY SATURDAY. VERY COLD AIR WILL
ACCOMPANY THE SYSTEM...ALLOWING SNOW LEVELS TO DROP ACROSS THE
HIGH TERRAIN OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA STARTING FRIDAY EVENING. AS
THE SYSTEM EXITS TO THE EAST DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY... STRONG
NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE...RESULTING IN NUMEROUS SNOW SHOWERS
THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY AFTERNOON.


NCZ033-048>052-310345-
/O.UPG.KGSP.WS.A.0004.141101T0000Z-141102T0000Z/
/O.NEW.KGSP.WS.W.0007.141101T0000Z-141102T0000Z/
AVERY-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-SWAIN-HAYWOOD-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BANNER ELK...NEWLAND...ELK PARK...
CROSSNORE...SUGAR MOUNTAIN...MARS HILL...MARSHALL...HOT SPRINGS...
BURNSVILLE...SPRUCE PINE...BRYSON CITY...WAYNESVILLE...CANTON...
LAKE JUNALUSKA
343 PM EDT THU OCT 30 2014

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM FRIDAY TO 8 PM EDT
SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED
A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 8
PM FRIDAY TO 8 PM EDT SATURDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO
LONGER IN EFFECT.

* LOCATIONS...NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAIN COUNTIES ALONG THE
TENNESSEE BORDER...AND NORTHERN JACKSON AND BUNCOMBE COUNTIES.

* HAZARDS...HEAVY SNOWFALL.

* TIMING...RAIN SHOWERS WILL CHANGE OVER TO SNOW FRIDAY NIGHT WITH
SNOW LEVELS DROPPING TO THE VALLEY FLOORS BY DAYBREAK SATURDAY.
NUMEROUS SNOW SHOWERS WILL LIKELY LINGER THROUGH THE DAY ON
SATURDAY...BEFORE TAPERING OFF EARLY SATURDAY EVENING.

* ACCUMULATIONS...SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 4 TO 6 INCHES...WITH AS
MUCH AS 10 INCHES ON THE HIGHER WEST FACING PEAKS.

* IMPACTS...THE HEAVY WET SNOW COULD PRODUCE ISOLATED TREE AND
POWER LINE DAMAGE. ROAD SURFACES MAY SEE SLIGHTLY LESS SNOW
ACCUMULATION...BUT BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES WILL LIKELY REMAIN
SNOW COVERED AND ICY.

* TEMPERATURES...FALLING INTO THE 20S BY SATURDAY MORNING.

* WINDS...NORTHWEST 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 35 MPH.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW
ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN
EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...
FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

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Well everything seems to be lining up very well for this first snow of the season. Wow and what a first snow it looks to be. I think there will be widespread 6-12 inches for many of the favorable locales. I think most of the places mentioned are good spot except Gatlinburg. I would really stay away from there.

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Both the GFS and the NAM look very good as soon as the front comes through you can see the orographic enhancement of the mountains along the TN/NC boarder which just dumps the snow along the spine. This really could end up a big event for a large portion of the mountains. Very excited about this storm.

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Hey guys I just did the plumes for Orangeburg and I could get in on some action... But I wish I was in Gatlinburg for this storm....

 

You have a mean snowfall amount of less than 0.01 inch of snowfall on that chart.  And, only two members give you anything at all, with the highest at 0.07 inch.  You're totally setting yourself up to get crushed with disappointment if you are hanging your hopes on snowfall with this system.  If you're looking for something to support the chances of snowfall in O-burg, the SREF is not your friend.

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Based on the recent model runs I wouldn't be surprised if advisory products were expanded at tonight's disco.

 

Me either, and for areas west of the mountains as well.

 

I should still be able to drive from Knoxville to Gatlinburg, but I may have to do the Interstate to Sevierville route instead of my normal one. Who knows if the back roads will be slippery.

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The overnight and this morning model runs are still very encouraging. The Nam this morning just hammers us tonight into tomorrow morning. This event keeps looking more and more impressive as we near. The point and click forecasts are up to 90 percent through tonight and tomorrow and even though it does not look great on radar just wait until later today. Take care today everyone and be dreamen of snowflakes!

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