Mid March departure dates ???

[2009ThruHiker]

Looking for some memories on temperatures / precipitation experienced in GA through the Smokies when leaving near MID MARCH. Thanks!

[orangebug]

Plan on winter. Remember the Blizzard of '92 was in mid-March, and killed people in the Smokies for Spring Break.

[Whistler]

In the hills, I've seen 80s down to 20s and teens. Snow, hail, sleet, rain, drizzle, mist, fog, haze, clouds, blue sky, sun... March is a bit temperamental.
-Mark

[Footslogger]

Left Springer on St Patricks Day (March 19th) 2001. Had extremely cold (well below freezing) temps and snow until we got to North Carolina. Still had cold nights after that but the general trend in temps was upward. That was a year that we had campfires EVERY night for at least the first
month.

By contrast, I left Springer again but this time on March 29th 2003. Had freezing temps and snow for the first two weeks but then things started to warm up and the rains began (and continued for 2 1/2 months).

'Slogger

[peter_pan]

Left Springer on St Patricks Day (March 19th) 2001. Had extremely cold (well below freezing) temps and snow until we got to North Carolina. Still had cold nights after that but the general trend in temps was upward. That was a year that we had campfires EVERY night for at least the first
month.

By contrast, I left Springer again but this time on March 29th 2003. Had freezing temps and snow for the first two weeks but then things started to warm up and the rains began (and continued for 2 1/2 months).

'Slogger

Don't forget the foot of snow in the Smokies in Early April 2003.

Plan for and expect bad weather then rejoice when it may be better. :)

Pan

[Burn]

weather patterns change from year to year century to century. you never know, so pack for winter in 08....keep it till you know when it's too warm in the 15* bag. we experienced 17* +or- windchills, 17 was inside a couple of shelter in the smokies, with a fire....weren't sure if the carbondioxide and fruit sap smoke was worth the heat either. I'm guessing, that would be yer start date, and it was brooooootal on springer and GA/nc/tn for the late starters.....hehehe truth is, being well prepared w/ relative faculties, you can start any date ya want....from springer.

spend winters testing gear for your hike...seen and did a lot of this myself, walk, if ya don't like walking, yer not gonna enjoy the AT. once ya get there, enjoy!

[Scribe]

When I left Springer on Mar. 8 of 2005, I had cold-weather clothes and bag along that I thought would come in handy for a few nights. Instead it got cold every damned night! I never saw temps above 50 and most nights it was below freezing - down to 14 one night. By the time I got to NOC, everything was fine. But the high altitudes on those mountains in north Georgia meant cold, snow, cold rain, and frost...

[Mouse]

In 2004 I left Mar 20. There was a cycle to the weather: rain or at higher altitude snowstorm as a cold front passed through, then temperatures would plummet to about 10 degrees at night as a high pressure zone with clear skies and wind followed, then several days of nice weather followed by another cold front as the cycle repeated. This pattern held until well north of the Smokies when a "Bermuda High" dominated the weather. It blocked away all the fronts and the pattern changed instead to daily afternoon convection thunderstorms.

EVERYTHING for me depended on how the timing of that cold front cycle. I tried to time things so I went up into the high country during the several good days and hit towns on the wet ones. I missed the worst of it, but hit the first cold snap near Blood Mountain, where those who stayed up top got REALLY cold. I got driven back to the road at Winding Stair Gap by heavy snow and had to get a ride to Franklin to hole up until the front passed. I hit that cold snap going up into the Nantahala mountains. Most of the snow on the trail was trampled down there so I did not have too much trouble. But those a week or so ahead of me caught that snowstorm high up in the Smokies and got rather buried! When I got there most of the snow had melted and the next cycle was icy rain and dense fog rather than deep snow.

So be ready for very cold or snowy or wet hypothermia inducing conditions. Catching the cycle might make it easier, but you can never tell what might come. The morning I went to Franklin it went from pleasant partly cloudy to total whiteout and deep snow in less than 30 minutes!

[Red Hat]

I left Springer on March 13th this year. It was gorgeous most days, but quite cold most nights. Light snow on St. Patricks day. Blizzard conditions on April 2nd (Fontana-GSMNP). More heavy snow April 24th(north of Erwin). It was cold well into May/June this year. Gypsy Lulu kept using the line "always winter, but never Christmas" from Lion,Witch,and the Wardrobe. that said, once it got warm, it got really warm......

[Red Hat]

I forgot to say that even when you miss the snow, you get the joy of hiking in slush, mud afterwards. Some of my hardest days were the ones through the Great Smokey Mountains in the deep mud ruts after the blizzard.

[Doc]

There used to be a site where I could plug in dates, say April 15 to May 15 for some spot on the AT like HF or Springer and I would get the average high and low temps. I can't seem to find this now. Anyone know of such a source?

Doc

[highway]

http://www.sophiaknows.com/atdb/weather.php?section=1

http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.jkLXJ8MQKtH/b.1025291/k.72A0/Average_Temperatures.htm

But plug the date in was here but no longer seems to work:

http://www.thru-hiker.com/temporal.asp

[max patch]

Hikers were rescued from Springer mid march 1993 when close to 3 feet of snow fell.