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Snow Flurries & Bitter Cold Temps Hit High Country, Beech & Sugar See 8-Degree Low

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Looks like a “blue bird” day on the slopes of Sugar Mountain Resort on Friday. Sugar was the first of the resorts to re-open this weekend. The rest will soon follow. Photo is a screen grab from Sugar’s web cam.

By Jesse Wood

The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement early on Friday because of potential slick roadways associated with the snow showers and flurries.

Local schools in Watauga and Avery counties operated on a two-hour delay on Friday.

RaysWeather.com noted that Friday will end up being the coldest day since Valentine’s Day, and “after a bitterly cold Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon will be cold but not AS cold. Clouds increase Sunday afternoon with temperatures continuing to moderate, the next chance for rain is late Sunday night.”

Some of the lows around the High Country on Friday morning are as follows:

  • Snake Mountain: 10.3 degrees
  • Blowing Rock: 16.5 degrees
  • Valle Crucis: 20.2 degrees
  • Boone: 18.8 degrees
  • Zionville: 18.4 degrees
  • Banner Elk: 15.6 degrees
  • Beech Mountain: 8.6 degrees
  • Sugar Mountain top: 8.8 degrees
  • Linville: 14.4 degrees

The cold temperatures have allowed all of the resorts to start making snow.

Sugar Mountain Resort opened its slopes on Friday. Appalachian Ski Mtn. plans to open slopes on Saturday – as does Hawksnest for tubing. Beech Mountain Resort will open on Sunday.

But as cold as it feels now, temperature highs, according to RaysWeather.com, are forecasted to reach the 50s to start off next week.