Data recorded at the official National Weather Service reporting station at Grandfather Mountain’s Mile High Swinging Bridge indicated average September weather at the Linville, N.C., nature park.
The warmest day recorded last month was 74° Fahrenheit on Sept. 15 — five degrees shy of the mountain’s record September high of 79°, recorded on Sept. 24, 2010.
The lowest temperature observed in last month was 38° on Sept. 23 and 24. The lowest temperature ever observed on Grandfather Mountain in the month of September was 24° on Sept. 30, 1967.
The average high temperature for September 2021 was 65°, with an average low of 51.4°, for a mean of 58.2°.
On Sept. 1, the station recorded a wind gust of 59 mph, while the highest sustained wind speed clocked in at 50.9 mph, also on Sept. 1.
The station reported 4.8 inches of precipitation in September, while observations recorded near the park’s nature museum saw 6.15 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 September was recorded in 2004, when 32.3 inches were observed near the bridge. The driest September on record was in 1984, when a meager .86 of an inch was measured at the top.
The park counted 15 total days of precipitation for September 2021, compared to the record high of 22 days in 1979. The rainiest day last month was Sept. 1, when 1.87 inches were recorded at the top and 2.56 inches at the nature museum. The rainiest day on record for September was Sept. 8, 2004, when the weather station observed 11.3 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 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 click here to book a trip.
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