Winter Wonderland in the North Carolina Mountains

The sun returned to the mountains today, unveiling a stunning winter wonderland in the highest elevations. This afternoon, we hiked the Appalachian Trail at Roan Mountain after receiving 20 inches of snow and plenty of rime ice to whiten the trees. Hurricane / Superstorm Sandy brought three days of snow in an unusual October snow storm. While the snow never laid on the ground in the city of Asheville, more than a foot of snow was just 20 miles away in the higher elevations. Mt. LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park received three feet of snow! See more snow photos from the “Frankenstorm.”

Frankenstorm Sandy brings Blizzard to NC High Mountains

Beginnings of a blizzard at Roan Mountain, NC

Hurricane Sandy (also known at Frankenstorm) is bringing a very rare October blizzard to the North Carolina mountains. This photo was taken this afternoon at Carver’s Gap at Roan Mountain (elevation 5,500 feet) where a blizzard will drop one to two feet of snow. Much lower accumulations are expected in the Asheville, North Carolina area. High winds and snow are expected through Tuesday. Watch a video of the blizzard at http://youtu.be/OeDMtj8ER-Y.