January 22, 2009 Issue
Warm December Ends Warm, Rainy Year At Grandfather Mountain
Photo by Ken Ketchie
A relatively warm December brought an end to a warm and wet year at the official U.S. Weather Service reporting station next to the Mile High Swinging Bridge on Grandfather Mountain.
The average high temperature for December of 41.33 degrees was 3.35 degrees warmer than normal. The average low temperature was 25.73 degrees, 2.02 degrees warmer than the 53-year average for the month.
Wind gusts over 60 mph were recorded nine times. The highest three-second gust recorded for the month was 104.7 mph December 31.
December’s 4 inches of snow was 5.04 inches, or 56 percent below normal for the month. The December rainfall total of 5.51 inches was 1.59 inches, or 41 percent, above normal.
The rainfall total for the year was 65.54 inches. The average annual rainfall at the mountain is 62.89 inches, making the 2008 total 2.65 inches, or 4 percent, above normal.
In 2008, the month with the most rain was August with 12.47 inches, and the month with the least rain was January with 1.84 inches. The most rain to fall in one day during 2008 was 8.50 inches on August 27. The rainiest day ever at Grandfather Mountain was September 8, 2004 when 11.3 inches of rain fell.
Temperatures were slightly warmer than usual at Grandfather Mountain in 2008. The average mean temperature was 46.87 degrees, 1.42 degrees warmer than normal. The average high temperature for the year of 54.75 degrees was 2.28 degrees warmer than normal and the average low temperature of 38.99 was .55 degrees warmer than normal.
Eleven new daily high temperature records and five new daily low temperature records were established in 2008. Five daily high records and two daily low records were tied.
The warmest temperature in 2008 was 82 degrees on June 10. This was also the highest temperature ever recorded in June at Grandfather. The warmest temperature ever recorded on the mountain is 83 degrees set on August 22, 1983 and tied July 26, 2005.
The coldest temperature in 2008 was minus 6 degrees on December 22. The coldest temperature ever recorded at Grandfather is minus 32 degrees on January 21, 1985.
Grandfather Mountain installed a new anemometer on the Mile High Swinging Bridge in February of 2007. Because of forces of both nature and technology, the instrument was unable to measure data for much of 2008. A total of 24 days of data was measured between January and March, but because of a lightning strike in the spring, the anemometer did not record again until October. The wind equipment has reported daily since October 1.
In 2008 wind speeds recorded by the new anemometer exceeded 60 mph 30 times and exceeded 100 mph on two occasions. The highest three-second gust recorded, and also the highest gust recorded on Grandfather’s new anemometer, was 106.95 mph on February 11.
Total snowfall for 2008 was 36.90 inches compared to a 53-year average of 54.03 inches, down 32 percent.
For more information on the 53 years of weather data from Grandfather Mountain, click to the interactive weather database at www.grandfather.com.
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