January 2025 saw exceptionally chilly temperatures on Grandfather Mountain, according to data recorded at the park’s official weather reporting stations.
The average high temperature for January 2025 was 26.32 degrees Fahrenheit (the second-lowest on record), with an average low of 12.93 degrees (the sixth-lowest on record) and a mean of 19.63 degrees (the third-lowest on record).
The warmest temperature recorded last month was 50.9 degrees on Jan. 31, just over 14 degrees shy of the mountain’s record January high of 65 degrees, observed on Jan. 30, 2002.
Jan. 20 saw the coldest temperature recorded last month with minus 4.4 degrees. There were three other days that saw temperatures dip below zero. Multiple days in January also had negative wind chills, though an issue with the anemometer prevented an exact count. The lowest temperature ever observed on Grandfather Mountain in the month of January (not counting wind chill) was minus 32 degrees on Jan. 21, 1985.
The weather station on the Mile High Swinging Bridge noted 10 days in January with a wind gust higher than 60 mph, not including multiple days of incomplete data when the anemometer was offline. On Jan. 29, the weather station at the top recorded a wind gust of 93.4 mph, with a sustained wind speed clocking in at 60.1 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 1.62 inches of precipitation in January 2025, the third-lowest total on record for this month. 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 1.91 inches of precipitation and also noted 16.0 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 January was recorded in 1998, when 11.79 inches were observed near the bridge. The driest January on record was observed in 1956, when 0.59 inches were measured at the top.
There were 17 days of at least trace amounts of recorded liquid precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation, when applicable) for January 2025. This specific total does not include a day when the site was inaccessible due to inclement weather. The day last month with the highest amount of this precipitation observed was Jan. 12, when 0.31 inches were recorded at the top. (Note, the top was inaccessible the day prior to this measurement being taken due to inclement weather, and any precipitation was subsequently recorded on Jan. 12.) The day with the highest amount of precipitation observed on record for January was Jan. 8, 1998, when the weather station noted 3.50 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).
For more information on weather at Grandfather Mountain, visit www.grandfather.com/weather.