Mount LeConte Records 7 Inches of Rain Yesterday!

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park posted this on their Facebook page a short while ago:

As these photos show, weather in the Smokies can be extreme and fast-changing! Yesterday, we saw rainfall totals ranging from 5.09 inches at Park Headquarters to 7.04 inches at Mount LeConte. Today, snow has been softly falling all morning at Park Headquarters, and Mount LeConte had around 4 inches of snow as of 9:00 a.m.

Please remember when traveling in the park to check weather forecasts and come prepared. Road closure information can be viewed on Twitter at @SmokiesRoadsNPS; no Twitter account is necessary to see this page.

The park and the region isn't quite out of the woods just yet. Here's the forecast from the National Weather Service:

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southwest North Carolina...east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

Accumulating snowfall expected across the northern Plateau and higher elevations of East Tennessee and southwest Virginia early this morning and into the afternoon as cold air continues to spill into the region, changing rain to snow. Widespread precipitation will end later this morning and become more isolated by the afternoon.

Snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are expected with locally higher amounts up to 5 inches possible across the highest elevations of the Smoky Mountains within advisory areas.

Wind gusts up to 50 mph are possible today across the eastern TN Mountains above 3500/4000 feet due to a tightening pressure gradient. Downed trees are possible due to saturated soils.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday

The wet pattern will continue into next week with several rounds of rainfall expected, mainly Monday and Monday night, and again next Thursday. Given the saturated soils and high stream levels, any additional rainfall may cause flooding issues.

For updates on park road closures, please visit: https://twitter.com/smokiesroadsnps



Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com

Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Grand Teton National Park