Last Updated on April 27, 2023 8:47 am
LINVILLE, N.C. – March 2023 saw fairly average weather on Grandfather Mountain, according to data recorded at the park’s official weather reporting stations.
The average high temperature for March 2023 was 45.03 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average low of 29.89 degrees and a mean of 37.46 degrees.
The warmest temperature recorded last month was 67.3 degrees on March 24, just under 5 degrees shy of the mountain’s record March high of 72 degrees, observed March 30, 1985.
March 19 saw the coldest temperature recorded last month with 6.8 degrees. The lowest temperature ever observed for this month (not counting wind chill) is minus 9 degrees on March 9, 1996.
The weather station on the Mile High Swinging Bridge noted eight days in March with a wind gust higher than 60 mph. On March 10, the weather station at the top recorded a wind gust of 82.1 mph, while the month’s highest recorded sustained wind speed clocked in at 52.7 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 4.45 inches of precipitation in March 2023. Precipitation at the top of the mountain includes rain and the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation. Due to wind, snow depth is not recorded at the top.
Observations recorded near the park’s Wilson Center for Nature Discovery saw 4.56 inches of precipitation and also noted three days with at least trace amounts of snowfall, amounting to approximately 1.10 total 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 measured at the top.
There were 18 days of recorded liquid precipitation (rain and the liquid equivalent of frozen precipitation) for March 2023. The day last month with the highest amount of this precipitation observed was March 4, when 1.31 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.
The nonprofit Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation strives to inspire conservation of the natural world by helping guests explore, understand and value the wonders of Grandfather Mountain. For more information, visit www.grandfather.com.
