View Full Version : Weather Forcasts - Springer Mtn
Is there a good web site with info on Springer Mountain weather? (preferably including a 5 or 10 day forcast)
or...
Typically, how different is the weather on Springer than at Amicalola Falls State Park?
weather.com has good info on Amicalola Falls State Park, including a 10-day forcast, but I'm not sure how significant the hi/lo temperature difference might be at Springer's higher elevation.
minnesotasmith
02-22-2008, 02:39
Is there a good web site with info on Springer Mountain weather? (preferably including a 5 or 10 day forcast)
or...
Typically, how different is the weather on Springer than at Amicalola Falls State Park?
weather.com has good info on Amicalola Falls State Park, including a 10-day forcast, but I'm not sure how significant the hi/lo temperature difference might be at Springer's higher elevation.
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1) www.noaa.gov (http://www.noaa.gov) will let you pick a precise point for weather forecasts. It's the official site for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, a Fedgov agency, and is pretty reliable, especially short-term.
2) www.weather.com (http://www.weather.com) has (or did last time I looked at it) a very helpful database of averages and records. That might help you get a better handle on the best and worst (not to mention most likely) weather you could be looking at when you start your hike.
3) www.accuweather.com (http://www.accuweather.com) forecasts go out to 15 days, however accurate they might be.
4) The Palmer Drought Index is a weekly-updated map of soil moisture. I find it useful hiking-wise for telling me how sodden the ground is, and later in the season as a guide to how dry water sources likely are. Here is the current one: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/palmer.gif
5) I find the USDA plant hardiness zone map to be a decent guide to some aspects of climate. Here it is:
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
6) Thruhiker Weathercarrot some years back produced some excellent highly detailed maps of average annual snowfall along the AT, showing the route of the trail and even the primary shelters, so there would be no problem figuring out just where one was along the AT WRT that map. I carried copies of the parts up through Pearisburg with me on my thruhike in 2006.
Unfortunately, the main website offering these for downloading is permanently down. WC (I asked him in person at a ruck) no longer has these himself, and I have not yet been able to find them elsewhere on the Internet. If you can find them, they'd be useful for inferring what you'd face early on with an early start. (Who'd have believed that the summit of Blood Mtn. gets >60" of snow a year -- in GEORGIA??") If you do find them, please let the rest of us know about where. ;)
Good luck to you on your hike.
They are predicting scattered showers for my start date.
Kirby
weathercarrot
02-29-2008, 12:51
The web archive has some bits and pieces of the original site:
http://web.archive.org/web/20040111105507/friends.backcountry.net/snowmaps/
The site only has a few of the maps. I have the digital labeled versions saved on disks (as well as original unlabeled hand-drawn versions), but the site would need to be reconstructed from scratch.
I would estimate Blood Mountain's average to be under 30 inches instead of the 60 mentioned above.
They are predicting scattered showers for my start date.
KirbyMight as well break in right and get used to it! :) You'll see plenty of rain (hopefully) before Kathadin. Otherwise if not, you'll have drinking water problems. Rain is a good thing these days coming off of last year's drought. ;)
Is there a good web site with info on Springer Mountain weather? (preferably including a 5 or 10 day forcast)
or...
Typically, how different is the weather on Springer than at Amicalola Falls State Park?
weather.com has good info on Amicalola Falls State Park, including a 10-day forcast, but I'm not sure how significant the hi/lo temperature difference might be at Springer's higher elevation.Figure Springer at 5-10 degrees cooler. Overcast or precipitation conditions closer to 5, and if the weather is clear, figure closer to 10 degrees colder.
Blissful
02-29-2008, 13:51
Figure Springer at 5-10 degrees cooler. Overcast or precipitation conditions closer to 5, and if the weather is clear, figure closer to 10 degrees colder.
And winds sometimes gusting at 40 mph plus at the tenting area up from the shelter.
:(
Footslogger
02-29-2008, 14:03
[quote=Blissful;555168]And winds sometimes gusting at 40 mph plus ....
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Sorry, I just had to chime in. 40 mph is considered a "gentle breeze" out here.
Enjoy Springer y'all ...but tap those tent stakes in a little deeper !!
'Slogger
minnesotasmith
02-29-2008, 19:47
The web archive has some bits and pieces of the original site:
http://web.archive.org/web/20040111105507/friends.backcountry.net/snowmaps/
The site only has a few of the maps. I have the digital labeled versions saved on disks (as well as original unlabeled hand-drawn versions), but the site would need to be reconstructed from scratch.
I would estimate Blood Mountain's average to be under 30 inches instead of the 60 mentioned above.
Your snowfall maps are a treasure. How much money would you need to reconstruct the site with all the maps?