August 2022 saw at least trace amounts of rain on 27 days – two days shy of the record 29 days of precipitation for this same month in 2020 – on Grandfather Mountain, according to data recorded at the park’s official weather reporting stations.
The average high temperature for August 2022 was 66.8°, with an average low of 56.8° and a mean of 60.5°.
The warmest temperature recorded last month was 73.2° on Aug. 3, just under 10 degrees shy of the mountain’s record August high of 83°, observed Aug. 22, 1983. Generally, August sees summertime weather conditions continue on Grandfather Mountain, with slightly cooler fall-like temperatures starting to arrive.
Aug. 13 saw the coldest temperature recorded last month with 51.6°. The lowest temperature ever observed on Grandfather Mountain in the month of August (not counting wind chill) was 36° on Aug. 29, 1986.
The weather station on the Mile High Swinging Bridge noted one day in August with a wind gust higher than 60 mph: On Aug. 2, the weather station recorded a wind gust of 63.9 mph. The highest gust ever recorded on Grandfather Mountain was 124 mph, observed Feb. 25, 2019.
The weather station near the Swinging Bridge reported 5.71 inches of precipitation in August 2022. Observations recorded near the park’s Wilson Center for Nature Discovery saw 6.84 inches. 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 August was recorded in 2008, when 12.47 inches were observed near the bridge. The driest August on record was observed in 1956, when 0.81 inches were recorded.
The park counted 27 total days of precipitation for August 2022, tying it with August 1996 and two days off August 2020’s record 29. The rainiest day last month was Aug. 6, when 0.94 inches were recorded at the top. The rainiest day on record for August was Aug. 27, 2008, when the weather station observed 8.50 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 1955 by reporting weather data from locations near the Mile High Swinging Bridge and the Nature Museum (now the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery).