Grandfather Mountain sees average February weather

LINVILLE, NC (March 10, 2021) — Data recorded at the official National Weather Service reporting station at Grandfather Mountain’s Mile High Swinging Bridge indicated average February weather at the Linville, N.C., nature park.

The lowest temperature observed was 2.3° Fahrenheit on Feb. 2, coupled with a wind chill of -22.6°. That same day, the weather station recorded a gust of 92.6 mph, as well as a sustained wind speed of 83.2 mph.

The lowest recorded temperature ever observed in the month of February on Grandfather Mountain was -19° on Feb. 25, 1967.

The warmest day recorded in February 2021 was 57° on Feb. 28, seven degrees shy of the mountain’s record February high of 64°, recorded Feb. 16, 1989.

However, due to natural and technological factors, some temperature data from February 2021 is unavailable. But according to manually observed data, the average high temperature for the month was 38.2°, with an average low of 24.5°, for a February 2021 mean of 31.4°.

As observed at the park’s nature museum, the mountain saw 6.7 inches of snow and 5.1 inches of precipitation last month. Precipitation is measured at this lower elevation, as high winds make it difficult to record accurate snow and precipitation observations at the top.

The snowiest February on record was in 2010, when 39.1 total inches of snow were recorded.

Weather Reporting

The Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation records and reports data in two different ways:

• The park maintains an automated weather station at the top of the Mile High Swinging Bridge. The N.C. State Climate Office assists the foundation in calibrating the machines and ensuring overall accuracy of data.
• Grandfather Mountain has been an active member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Cooperative Observer Program since 1955 by reporting daily temperature, precipitation and weather events from locations near the Mile High Swinging Bridge and the Nature Museum.

For more information on weather at Grandfather Mountain, visit http://bit.ly/gfmweather.

The nonprofit Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation strives to inspire conservation of the natural world by helping guests explore, understand and value the wonders of Grandfather Mountain. For more information, call 800-468-7325, or visit www.grandfather.com to book a trip.

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