Following the historic Tropical Storm Helene hitting Western North Carolina with extreme winds, rainfall and flooding in late September, Grandfather Mountain saw a return to fairly normal weather in October 2024.
That said, equipment that went out at the park’s official weather reporting stations during the storm remained offline for a few days into October, which resulted in some missing wind and temperature data. Likewise, staff members were also not always available to access the sites to record precipitation measurements in the wake of the storm.
Nonetheless, the data that was collected reflects pretty standard conditions for the month on the mountain.
The average high temperature for October 2024, not including three days of missing data, was 56.20 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of 44.65 degrees and a mean of 50.43 degrees.
The warmest temperature recorded for the month was 66.2 degrees on Oct. 13, almost 9 degrees shy of the mountain’s record October high of 75 degrees, observed Oct. 3, 1986. Generally, October sees fall weather conditions continue on Grandfather Mountain, with cooler temperatures starting to take hold.
Oct. 17 saw the coldest temperature recorded during the month with 25.2 degrees. The lowest temperature ever observed on Grandfather Mountain in the month of October (not counting wind chill) was 12 degrees on Oct. 26, 1962.
After being down the first three days of the month following Helene, the weather station on the Mile High Swinging Bridge noted one day in October with a wind gust higher than 60 mph. On Oct. 14, the weather station at the top recorded a wind gust of 72.4 mph. The highest gust ever recorded on Grandfather Mountain was 124 mph, observed Feb. 25, 2019.
The weather station near the Swinging Bridge reported 1.06 inches of precipitation for October, not including multiple days of missing data when staff weren’t able to get measurements. 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 1.12 inches of precipitation for the month, not including multiple days of missing data, and also noted 0.5 inches of snow on Oct. 16. 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 October was recorded in 1970, when 15.86 inches were observed near the bridge. The driest October on record was observed in 1963, when 0.31 inches were recorded.
Not including the missing data, there were 7 days of at least trace amounts of recorded liquid precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation, when applicable) for October 2024. The day with the highest amount of this precipitation observed was Oct. 4, when 0.58 inches were recorded at the top (which could have included rainfall from previous days that was subsequently measured on Oct. 4). The day with the highest amount of precipitation observed on record for October was Oct. 5, 1995, when the weather station observed 5.12 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.