Today has been very similar to yesterday's happenings. Clouds rolled in again last night, winds picked up, and then the sun came out by the afternoon to brighten the mood. It's not as warm today, the winds aren't dying down this time, and it sounds like our next set of storms is on the way. Shortly after posting yesterday, our official thermometer tapped 70.0 degrees for the first time this year. We hit 51 degrees over night and are yet to hit 60 today. There is also a fair amount of day hiker traffic, so its good to see folks taking advantage of the weather to enjoy the outdoors before the work week resumes.
Here's an interesting weather related tidbit for you. Everyone should be quite familiar with the extreme drought we endured last year. For 2016, Mt. LeConte recorded 52.5" of rainfall, well short of the average amount the Smoky Mountains receive annually, which is around 85". Over the last 4 months, we have recorded 26" of rain, already half of last year. We'll see what comes tonight. It feels like we've had a good balance of sun and rain this year, and we can only hope that trend continues.
Have a great rest of the day and conclusion to the month. Happy trails!