March 2026 was the third warmest March on record on Grandfather Mountain, according to data recorded at the park’s official weather reporting stations.
The average high temperature for March 2026 was 51.59 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of 35.7 degrees and a mean of 43.65 degrees. The warmest March on record was 2012 when the average high was 53.10 degrees, the average low was 39.5 degrees, and the mean was 46.30 degrees.
The 70-year averages for March temperatures at Grandfather Mountain include an average high temperature of 45 degrees, and average low temperatures of 29.1 degrees and a mean of 37.1 degrees.
The warmest temperature recorded last month was 68.7 degrees on March 22. This is the third hottest temperature ever recorded at the mountain during the month of March. Grandfather’s record high temperature for March is 72 degrees, observed March 30, 1985. The reading of 68.7 degrees topped the previous daily high temperature record for March 22. The previous record was 64 degrees recorded in 1991.
The fourth highest March temperature ever was also recorded in March 2026. A reading of 68.5 on March 11 beat the previous daily high temperature record of 62 degrees from 1990.
March 1 saw the coldest temperature recorded last month with 6.1 degrees. The anemometer was offline for the first three days of the month. No negative wind chills were recorded during the month after March 3. The lowest temperature ever observed on Grandfather Mountain in the month of March (not counting wind chill) was minus 9 degrees on March 9, 1996.
The weather station on the Mile High Swinging Bridge noted eight days in March with a wind gust higher than 60 mph, not including multiple days of incomplete data when the anemometer was offline. On March 16, the weather station at the top recorded a wind gust of 94.5 mph, while the month’s highest recorded sustained wind speed clocked in at 53 mph that same day. The highest gust ever recorded on Grandfather Mountain was 124 mph, observed Feb. 25, 2019.
The weather station near the Swinging Bridge reported 3.38 inches of precipitation in March 2026. Precipitation at the top of the mountain includes rain and the liquid equivalent of any frozen precipitation (when applicable). Due to wind, snow depth is not recorded at the top.
Observations recorded near the park’s Wilson Center for Nature Discovery totaled 3.31 inches of precipitation and also noted 2.7 inches of snowfall for the month. Precipitation is also measured at the latter location, as high winds can make it difficult to record accurate observations at the top.
The mountain’s rainiest March was recorded in 1963, when 11.70 inches were observed near the bridge. The driest March on record was observed in 2016, when 1.01 inches were measured at the top.
There were 15 days of at least trace amounts of recorded liquid precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation, when applicable) for March 2026. The day last month with the highest amount of this precipitation observed was March 8, when 1.10 inches were recorded at the top. The day with the highest amount of precipitation observed on record for March was March 12, 1963, when the weather station noted 6.38 inches.
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 1956 by reporting weather data from locations near the Mile High Swinging Bridge and the Nature Museum (now the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery).
For more information on weather at Grandfather Mountain, visit www.grandfather.com/weather.