Sub zero winds reported on Blue Ridge Parkway, leading to ice, widespread closures

The Blue Ridge Parkway announced more closures Wednesday, after temperatures dipped to 9 degrees and roads froze over for miles.

As of Wednesday, a “real-time” map showed most of the parkway through North Carolina and Virginia was closed.

On Wednesday, snow and ice forced the park to close the Craggy Gardens area, which saw frigid “conditions similar in the highest elevations of the parkway,” said a park Facebook post. Only hikers were being allowed to visit the area, said the post.

“If you decide to venture out, please be prepared for extreme cold and sub zero wind chill,” the post warned.

The new closures come just a week after the National Park Service announced 100 miles of the parkway was closed due to a combination of ice and rain, which saturated soil that caused trees to tumble across miles of roadway. Most of those closures are still in place, said a Tuesday post.

The North Carolina State Park system also announced Wednesday that Mount Mitchell State Park was closed, after temperatures fell to 4 degrees and N.C. 128 iced over “from the Blue Ridge Parkway up to the summit.”

The parkway has been forced to close large sections multiple times this year due to weather-related problems, including an extensive rock slide in February, flooding in June due to heavy rains, and downed trees in September due to Hurricane Florence.

This story was originally published November 28, 2018 at 4:43 PM.