By Jesse Wood
Blue skies are beginning to appear late Wednesday morning after a two-day snowstorm that dropped about seven inches of snow atop Sugar Mountain Resort. Temps are still freezing, however.
RaysWeather.com noted that today is the fourth coldest day of the 2016-17 winter season. The weather outlet recorded a low of 11.9 degrees in Boone at 8 a.m. on Wednesday.
The other three lowest days, according to archives at RaysWeather.com, stem from a three-day cold spell in January, where recorded lows on Jan. 7-9 were 10.7 degrees, 4 degrees and 10 degrees.
The wind is still gusty late Wednesday morning, although not quite as gusty as March 10, when the wind gusts peaked (for the day and year) at 97.7 mph atop Grandfather Mountain, according to data recorded on the State Climate Office website. Early Wednesday morning at 4 a.m., the wind speed peaked at 52.4 mph, while the wind gusts peaked at 70.2 mph for the day.
“We got about seven inches of snow,” Kim Jochl, marketing director at Sugar Mountain Resort. “The slopes [10 of which are open] are in really good condition. It’s pretty out, wintery.”
The weather station at Fred’s General Mercantile on Beech Mountain recorded about three inches of snow, according to Fred’s business manager Bernie Knepka.
With Avery County Schools, Watauga County Schools and school districts beyond cancelling classes on Wednesday, all of the resorts are offering snow day rates – and March Madness rates apply as well.
Sugar Mountain Snow Day
Special pricing available to K-12 students and teachers on days that school is cancelled due to winter weather. Pricing available to Ashe, Avery, Mitchell & Watauga counties in North Carolina and Carter & Johnson counties in Tennessee. See snow day rates here.
Beech Mountain Resort Snow Daze
On snow days, students & teachers from closed K-12 schools ski for just $10; ski or board rentals are also just $10! *Offer valid for the day session only – excludes Christmas holidays, Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day.
This special applies to Avery, Ashe, Watauga, Mitchell, Carter, Washington, and Johnson County students and teachers only. A proof of residency must be presented. (school ID, report card, letter from school, parents drivers license)
Appalachian Ski Mtn. Snow Day
ASM has always offered a special snow day rate for Watauga & contiguous counties, and now we are excited to extend a Special Snow Day Offer to ALL SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia for the remainder of the season! Any time any school system in NC, TN, or VA is out of school due to winter weather, students, teachers and school staff can get an 8-hour Flex ticket for only $10! Simply present a report card, school ID or paystub for teachers & staff to take advantage of this great offer. Our Flex ticket is an 8-hour ticket, and your time starts when you purchase your ticket.
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