Weather in Virginia

[Toolumpy]

I know it is a questionable question! Headed north from Daleville on 4/30/22 and was wondering what range of temperture I can expect.

[Dan Roper]

nything and everything is possible, from cold and snow to heat and humidity. On May 12 last year, I walked in snow and sleet from Big Mountain to Angel's Rest, above Pearisburg. Three nights were cold, then things moderated. This year may be very different. Fronts still come through in April and May on occasion, so you may have heat, then rain, then cold. Right now, the long-range forecast for Saturday through Monday is nicely mild with a moderate chance of rain. It'll get more certain as the weekend draws closer. Good luck and have fun.

[Venchka]

Try Accuweather. They do a pretty good job here in the North Carolina Blue Ridge mountains.
Wayne

[RockDoc]

I did that stretch SOBO from SNP to Damascus one year in April May and froze my ass almost every day... reluctantly mailed my down sweater home halfway thru, then regretted it!

[rdljr]

I did near there last year the last week of April. I had 1 cool night and got a sunburn during the day. Never saw a true frost but came close. Was comfortable in a long sleave shirt even when stopped on all but the one cool day during that week. Only had one rainy day and it was nothing more than a mist at times but did see some nice rain storms/cloads off on the other ridges.

[chknfngrs]

Cool nights and maybe warm days. or cold nights and maybe cold days.

[Gambit McCrae]

Cooler nights, hotter days. Cold fronts could still drop temps significantly. Check weather the week of and plan accordingly.

[GoldenBear]

What others experienced a year ago is almost irrelevant to what is predicted to happen by the following ten-day forecast:

https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/da...recast/2219660

[johnnybgood]

The western Blue Ridge Mountains received a significant dumping of snow and sleet one week ago so be prepared for changing weather.

[Toolumpy]

Thanks all. Looks like pretty good hiking weather but will be prepaired.

[Patrickjd9]

I was on the Foothills Trail in South Carolina for four days last week. Temperatures ranged from upper 30s the first two mornings, to mid-80s on the last afternoon. That entire range, plus rain or a little slushy snow, is possible

[Venchka]

In the past few days I have received several low humidity and windy fire danger warnings for North Carolina and Virginia mountains.
Be careful Y’all!
Wayne

[Fallesafe]

The best resource for weather along the AT is ATweather. You just plug in your nearest shelter and it gives you a forecast that takes elevation and specific location into account. I lived by this on my hike.

https://www.atweather.org/

[dmperkins74]

I second atweather.org. I also check accuweather sometimes... and maybe I'm just more biased towards atweather because it's AT focused. Anyway, between the two, it gets about as close an answer as you're going to get in my opinion.

[Coffee]

I was in Shenandoah National Park this past Wednesday night tenting near Byrd's Nest #3. Lows were definitely in the 20s but water bottles inside my tent, kept near me, didn't freeze. As I started hiking Thursday morning, I ended up with floating ice cubes in my water bottles within an hour.

You can really get anything in Virginia in April.

Now things should rapidly be warming up.

[Dan Roper]

5/9/22 morning forecast in southwest Virginia, specifically pointing out Burke's Garden (near Chestnut Knob Shelter). Virginia mountains can be so variable in May:

NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/...As of 1020 PM EDT Sunday...

Frost Advisory Expanded to Include the Southern Shenandoah
Valley and the New River Valley...

Skies are clearing west of the Blue Ridge this evening and are
expected to clear east of the Blue Ridge overnight, possibly
persisting in the Danville and northern NC area for several more
hours. Winds are forecast to diminish down through the
Shenandoah Valley, Greenbrier Valley, and New River Valley.
Temperatures are dropping more than expected in these areas and
easily could reach the lower to mid 30s if all of these
conditions remain in place. Wind is the main concern to prevent
frost formation overnight, especially in far southwest Virginia
where it should remain higher. With all of this in mind, have
expanded the Frost Advisory to include these additional areas
further southwest. Only very isolated locations will potentially
make it to the freezing mark, such as Burkes Garden.

[One Half]

5/9/22 morning forecast in southwest Virginia, specifically pointing out Burke's Garden (near Chestnut Knob Shelter). Virginia mountains can be so variable in May:

NEAR TERM /THROUGH TODAY/...As of 1020 PM EDT Sunday...

Frost Advisory Expanded to Include the Southern Shenandoah
Valley and the New River Valley...

Skies are clearing west of the Blue Ridge this evening and are
expected to clear east of the Blue Ridge overnight, possibly
persisting in the Danville and northern NC area for several more
hours. Winds are forecast to diminish down through the
Shenandoah Valley, Greenbrier Valley, and New River Valley.
Temperatures are dropping more than expected in these areas and
easily could reach the lower to mid 30s if all of these
conditions remain in place. Wind is the main concern to prevent
frost formation overnight, especially in far southwest Virginia
where it should remain higher. With all of this in mind, have
expanded the Frost Advisory to include these additional areas
further southwest. Only very isolated locations will potentially
make it to the freezing mark, such as Burkes Garden.

46 when I checked at about 7:30 here in Damascus this morning. I'm sure it was a little colder over night. But the days are supposed to be in the 70s and possible rain Friday-Sunday. Should make for an interesting Trail Days. I imagine the mountains are getting more rain than we have been seeing as the creek behind us has swollen a LOT over the last week.