March 2024 was a fairly blustery month on Grandfather Mountain, according to data recorded at the park’s official weather reporting stations.
The average high temperature for March 2024 was 48.40 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of 32.68 degrees and a mean of 40.54 degrees.
The warmest temperature recorded last month was 65.48 degrees on March 31, more than 6 degrees shy of the mountain’s record March high of 72 degrees, observed on March 30, 1985.
March 19 saw the coldest temperature recorded last month with 10.76 degrees. A wind chill of minus 15.2 was noted that same day. There were three other days in March that also recorded negative wind chills. 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 10 days in March with a wind gust higher than 60 mph. On March 11, the weather station at the top recorded a wind gust of 94.1 mph, while the month’s highest recorded sustained wind speed clocked in at 61.2 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 6.12 inches of precipitation in March 2024. 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 likewise totaled 6.12 inches of precipitation and also noted 0.2 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 16 days of at least trace amounts of recorded liquid precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation, when applicable) for March 2024. The day last month with the highest amount of this precipitation observed was March 23, when 1.49 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 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.