March 2022 saw average winter weather on Grandfather Mountain, according to data recorded at the park’s official weather reporting stations.
The two coldest days recorded last month, March 12 and 13, saw a low temperature of 1.2° Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of -31.4 and a low temperature of 0.9° Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of -31.3, respectively. The lowest temperature ever observed on Grandfather Mountain in the month of March (not counting wind chill) was -9° on March 9, 1996.
The warmest temperature recorded last month was 61.2° on March 6, just under 11 degrees shy of the mountain’s record March high of 72°, observed March 30, 1985.
The average high temperature for March 2022 was 48.01°, with an average low of 31.05°, for a mean of 39.53°.
On March 12, the weather station on the Mile High Swinging Bridge recorded a wind gust of 90 mph, along with a sustained wind speed of 74 mph. The station noted 10 days in March with wind gusts higher than 60 mph. The highest gust ever recorded on Grandfather Mountain was 124 mph, observed Feb. 25, 2019.
The station reported 4.80 inches of precipitation in March 2022, while observations recorded near the park’s Nature Museum saw 5.25 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 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 recorded.
The park counted 15 total days of precipitation for March 2022, nine days short of the record 24 days in 2020. The rainiest day last month was March 24, when 1.04 inches were recorded at the top. The rainiest day on record for March was March 12, 1963, when the weather station observed 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 1955 by reporting weather data from locations near the Mile High Swinging Bridge and the Nature Museum.
For more information on weather at Grandfather Mountain, visit www.grandfather.com/weather.