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‘Full Blizzard Conditions’ at Grandfather on Tuesday

By Paul T. Choate

There are still “full blizzard conditions” at Grandfather. Photo by Landis Wofford

Oct. 30, 2012. The remnants of Hurricane Sandy are still impacting Grandfather Mountain in a big way as of noon on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Currently, over six inches of snow have been measured at the entrance gate, but more than that has probably fallen.

“It’s full blizzard conditions up there,” said Landis Wofford, director of communications with Grandfather Mountain.

Wofford said she walked up the mountain as far as was safe to go this morning and said snow was “thigh-high” in places due to drifts. Officially, six and one-half inches of snow have been measured at the entrance gate, but Wofford said it was probably more than that.

As far up as the nature museum, at 11 a.m., Wofford said, “It’s very cold and the winds are very, very strong.”

Exact temperature, wind and wind chill measurements are currently impossible due to the weather station at Grandfather Mountain being down. Additionally, their website is also down due to a server issue.

Asked how hard it would be to get an exact measurement of the snow, Wofford said, “It’s impossible to do.”

Additional images
Photos by Landis Wofford