October 19, 2022

Good Morning,

We’re down to just five weeks remaining in the season, and it’s another day of waking up to arctic air atop Mt. LeConte. The skies cleared and the stars came out during the night, but there’s been no change in the thermometer’s stubbornness with sitting tight in the teens. Gusts have been a bit stronger in recent hours driving the wind chill down around 0°. Once the sun rises over High Top, we should be able to bid farewell to the chilliest part of the cold snap. Over the next 36 hours, temps are going to make a slow and steady climb back into a more seasonably appropriate range. We might scrape the freezing mark later today and eventually top out around 40° Thursday afternoon. We can count on a few more nights in the 20s this week, and gusty winds will continue to have on affect on keeping things cool up top. More patchy ice has surely formed on trail overnight, so tread carefully as you ascend the mountain today and tomorrow. Hopefully by this weekend we won’t have to worry about such frigid conditions and hikers can focus more on soaking up some sun and admiring what changing leaves remain in the lower elevations.

Have a great day.