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Frigid February sets five records on Grandfather Mountain
A frigid February saw Grandfather Mountain set five record daily low temperatures in a single week.
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A frigid February saw Grandfather Mountain set five record daily low temperatures in a single week.
“Winter certainly took its time getting here, but it came full force once it arrived,” said Public Relations Specialist Kellen Short.
In the third week of the month, the mountain saw these records:
Feb. 14: -10.8° (Previously -5° in 1971)
Feb. 15: -11.1° (Previously -6° in 1963)
Feb. 18: -15.4° (Previously -14° in 1958)
Feb. 19: -16.4° (Previously -8° in 1972)
Feb. 20: -10.7° (Previously -4° in 1972)
Grandfather Mountain did not, however, beat the record low for the month of February, which is -19°, set on Feb. 25, 1967.
The first substantial snow of the season also brought some mind-numbing numbers: winds close to 100 mph and wind chills as low as -50° and below.
The highest speed recorded for the month at the Mile High Swinging Bridge was 97.6 mph on Feb. 14.
At the base of the mountain, snowfall measured at 16.6 inches, while staff at the Nature Museum halfway up the mountain recorded 11.3 inches. The snowiest day of the month was Feb. 26, when the Entrance Gate recorded 5.5 inches of snow and the Nature Museum recorded 3.8 inches of snow.
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