November 2025 saw fairly dry conditions for the month on Grandfather Mountain, according to data recorded at the park’s official weather reporting stations.
The weather station near the Swinging Bridge reported 1.74 inches of precipitation in November 2025. Precipitation at the top of the mountain includes rain and the liquid equivalent of any frozen precipitation (when applicable). This total ties the 2021 precipitation amount for the eighth driest November at Grandfather on record. The driest November on record was observed in 2007, when 1.06 inches were measured at the top.
There were 11 days of at least trace amounts of recorded liquid precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation, when applicable) for November 2025. The record number of days for the month of November is 21 days, observed in 1977 and 1986. The November on record with the lowest number of days of precipitation is 2010, with only five days noted.
Observations recorded near the park’s Wilson Center for Nature Discovery totaled 1.71 inches of precipitation and also noted 3.3 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. Due to wind, snow depth is not recorded at the top of the mountain.
The mountain’s rainiest November was recorded in 1977, when 13.02 inches were observed near the bridge.
The day last month with the highest amount of this precipitation observed was Nov. 21, when 0.44 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 noted 5.70 inches.
The average high temperature for November 2025 was 44.26 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of 31.07 degrees and a mean of 37.67 degrees.
The warmest temperature recorded was 60.1 degrees on Nov. 5, just under nine degrees shy of the mountain’s record November high of 69 degrees, observed both Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 of 2004.
Nov. 11 saw the coldest temperature recorded last month with 7.5 degrees, breaking the daily low record for that day. The previous record for Nov. 11 was 11 degrees, recorded in 1973. A wind chill of minus 22.7 was noted Nov. 12. A total of six days in November experienced a wind chill below zero. 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 17 days in November with a wind gust higher than 60 mph. On Nov. 16, the weather station at the top recorded a wind gust of 89.5 mph, with a sustained wind speed clocking in at 51.9 mph that same day. The highest gust ever recorded on Grandfather Mountain was 124 mph, observed Feb. 25, 2019.
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).
- In the 69 years of weather collection at Grandfather Mountain, instrument locations for the Top Shop and Swinging Bridge area have moved around slightly as technology and understanding of what makes the best location for reporting have improved.
For more information on weather at Grandfather Mountain, visit www.grandfather.com/weather.