Wednesday Weather Whys: Mountain Upslope Snow

Many people ask me why the mountains receive more snow than we do here on the east side of the mountains. One of the reasons why the mountains receive more snow is due to uplsope snow behind low pressure systems. Upslope snow occurs when the wind blows out of the northwest. While most of us in the foothills remain dry and sunny with very cold temperatures, the mountains have very heavy snow. The winds hit the mountains and move upward, causing clouds to form and snow eventually develops. A few inches of snow can fall in a short amount of time, and the snow is usually accompanied with gusty winds. Every so often, we may see flurries outside of the mountains, and in very rare cases, snow can accumulate here in the foothills of North Carolina.