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6/30/2012

RECORD BREAKING TEMPERATURES HIT MT. LECONTE!!

It was like the New Years Eve countdown. As soon as we saw that it was 74 at 9 am, we knew we were going to break the record on Friday. As the thermometer read 79.7 degrees, the crew ran and grabbed their cameras so they could snap a picture of the proof that Mt. LeConte finally reached 80 degrees. Around 1 pm the temperature hit a high of 81.4. This was huge news for those of us who love Mt. LeConte. It has always been a bragging right to say the mountain has never reached 80 degrees. I guess now we will have to say 82 degrees? The crew celebrated by having a water balloon fight.

John and Bonnie waiting to capture THE moment in history.

H Clark

6/30/2012 01:44:38 am

Records were made to be broken, evidently this applies to the LeConte weather marks.

Completed my sixth hike in 2012 to the mountain yesterday, each time on a different trail and returned the same route.

March 29 - Bullhead
May 4 - Rainbow Falls
May 18 - Trillium Gap
June 8 - Brushy Mountain
June 22 - Boulevard
June 29 - Alum Cave

With the attention focused on the record high - what is the record low?

J Carter

6/30/2012 04:49:32 am

Congrats! I done this in 2011, it's a great goal to set and a great way to see the mountain.

chris

6/30/2012 05:06:35 am

-32 is the record low i believe. Someone please correct me if i'm wrong.

Jen

7/5/2012 12:43:50 am

I've been up there when it's been in the 20s (March 2000), so I'd image it gets MUCH colder than that! :-)

Pat N.

6/30/2012 02:00:55 am

Sounds like everyone, except the llamas, are excited about the history-making temperature! The newlyweds in the post are no exception. Who ever thought I would say to y'all up there, "Stay cool."

Juanita

6/30/2012 02:35:59 am

Amazing. The next time I hike up there I am going to go rainbow falls, this fall, I think the fall colors will be pretty.

pam

6/30/2012 04:31:54 am

Planned on hiking up. Got to Gatlinburg Friday afternoon and 2hrs later heard we had a tornado at home. Home is good branches down and no power. Waiting to see if any water comes into basement. So far so good. I want my I hiked it t shirt so I hope we can stay and hike!

Linda M.

6/30/2012 05:48:58 am

What's the latest on the sick llama? When we came down Trillium on Thursday, we saw the packs laying on the side of the trail. Just wondering how he is doing.

Ron Adams

6/30/2012 06:07:29 am

I am saddened by the record temperature reading. I always thought it was kind of neat that it had never hit 80 up there. Guess the old climate is changing...................too bad.

Jenny Bennett link

6/30/2012 07:36:33 am

Now's when I miss northern New England! Right now, at 2:30 on Saturday afternoon on the summit of Mt. Washington, the temp is 55.6 and the wind speed is 58.3 mph--brisk, but not enough to knock you over. I know from experience visiting the summit that 70 mph is when I have trouble staying on my feet.

Roger Fancher

6/30/2012 08:01:37 am

I feel sad about the barrier being broken, but looking at it pragmatically, it had to happen sometime. Really, it has been above 80 on LeConte many times in the past before records were officially kept. When did daily temps start being kept anyway?

Debi link

6/30/2012 01:38:19 pm

Sitting on my front porch tonight sweating. I think 90. So 80 sounds pretty good right now.

Heath

6/30/2012 02:19:50 pm

It is still 97 degrees here in Alabama at 8:16 p.m...down from 103.

Pat S

6/30/2012 02:36:05 pm

Regardless of the temp., "up top" is the place to be !!! Wish I was there!

DannyH

6/30/2012 03:05:15 pm

Broke all time record at 107 in Chattanooga and my house in Cleveland, Tn. Just got back from Montana last Wednesday and snowmelt from Beartooth Mountains near Yellowstone park had Yellowstone River flowing at high level.

7/2/2012 02:52:57 am

Friends and I were there for the record on Friday, although sitting on the porch at the office in a rocking chair in the shade, 80 wasn't too bad. Came back down Saturday morning. It was still a lot cooler on the mountain than it was down in Gatlinburg.

M Wood

7/5/2012 02:10:12 am

I saw with disbelief on the NWS website "obversations" page, with the Great Smokies Report that on July 2 it showed a high of 96???
Typo? Otherwise, where do those guys get their information?
Glad to find this website and get the FIRST HAND report from the folks who are THERE! Of course, it "makes me sad" to see it breaking the 80 degree mark.
I have been there 40 some odd times since the mid 70's, always overnight, (never a dayhike), and always stayed at the shelter, never had the pleasure of staying at the lodge...and 95% of the trips were in winter mostly, some fall, and just a time or two in spring or summer. (My coldest night there was a mere minus 12)
Only 79 more days til' the first day of FALL!!

Envious of the fireworks show views too!!

Keith Rokoske

7/6/2012 07:08:26 am

I saw that error, too. It looks like the temps for Cades Cove and Mt LeConte got switched in the weather summary. The high that day at the LeConte lodge was 80, not 96.

I find it a bit sad that the record was broken, but it certainly had been over 80 before, just before there was a thermometer up there. Still, people ask if Global Warming, or more appropriately, Global Climate Change, is real - and I put this forward as a prime example...

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RECORD BREAKING TEMPERATURES HIT MT. LECONTE!!

LeConte Lodge

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