November 2023 was another dry month on Grandfather Mountain, according to data recorded at the park’s official weather reporting stations. The average high temperature for November 2023 was 45.89 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of 33.33 degrees and a mean of 39.61 degrees.
The warmest temperature recorded last month was 61.3 degrees on Nov. 7, more than 7 degrees shy of the mountain’s record November high of 69 degrees, observed on both Nov. 1 and 2, 2004. Generally, November sees winter weather conditions start to take hold on Grandfather Mountain.
Nov. 1 saw the coldest temperature recorded last month with 11.7 degrees. A wind chill of minus 14.6 was noted that same day. Nov. 27, 28 and 29 also recorded negative wind chills. The lowest temperature ever observed on Grandfather Mountain in the month of November (not counting wind chill) was minus 12 degrees on Nov. 15, 1959.
The weather station on the Mile High Swinging Bridge noted three days in November with a wind gust higher than 60 mph. On Nov. 28, the weather station at the top recorded a wind gust of 86.3 mph, while the month’s highest recorded sustained wind speed clocked in at 52.8 mph on Nov. 27. The highest gust ever recorded on Grandfather Mountain was 124 mph, observed Feb. 25, 2019.
The weather station near the Swinging Bridge reported 1.38 inches of precipitation in November 2023, 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).
Observations recorded near the park’s Wilson Center for Nature Discovery totaled 1.59 inches of precipitation and also noted 0.1 inches of snowfall on Nov. 27. 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 November was recorded in 1977, when 13.02 inches were observed near the bridge. The driest November on record was observed in 2007, when 1.06 inches were measured at the top.
There were 10 days of at least trace amounts of recorded liquid precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation, when applicable) for November 2023, 11 days short of the record 21 days in 1977, 1986 and 2022. The day last month with the highest amount of this precipitation observed was Nov. 22, when 0.70 inches were recorded at the top. The day with the highest amount of precipitation observed on record for November was Nov. 6, 1977, when the weather station observed 5.70 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.