Snow and ice forecast for parts of NC mountains, forcing Blue Ridge Parkway closures
UPDATE: Mount Mitchell State Park got just under 2 inches of snow as the storm front passed this week, according to the National Weather Service. The original story is below.
The Blue Ridge Parkway has closed multiple sections of the popular roadway in North Carolina in anticipation of snow overnight Nov. 3.
Areas in the higher elevations of he mountains are most at risk of snow, officials said. However, frigid air and rain will extend as far east as the Charlotte, where lows will be in the lower 30s and a frost advisory has been issued for late Thursday, Nov. 4.
The parkway’s closure announcement was made on Facebook, not long after Mount Mitchell State Park, which is along the parkway, abruptly announced it was closing due to snow and ice.
A live weather cam atop the 6,684-foot peak of Mount Mitchell showed a dusting of snow in the trees, and the temperature at 29 degrees. The wind chill had been as low as 17.5 degrees in the park earlier in the day.
Blue Ridge Parkway officials said the road closures will remain in place until crews “assess road conditions in the morning as weather allows.” A park closure list shows the blocked sections are between mile marker 411 and mile marker 469, south of Asheville.
The National Weather Service is calling for the mountains to see their first significant snowfall of the season overnight, though it may not be deep.
“Light snow is expected to spread over the North Carolina mountains tonight, affecting mainly locations at elevations above 3,500 feet,” according to the National Weather Service in Greenville-Spartanburg SC. “Temperatures will likely dip near the freezing mark overnight toward daybreak Thursday, and slippery road conditions will be possible.”
The snow will ease in the morning but “could mix with light freezing rain or freezing drizzle before ending,” according to a forecast outlook.
Cold temperatures will last much of the week, with lows in the Asheville area below freezing the nights of Nov. 5 and Nov. 6, NWS officials say.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 4:42 PM.