Figure 1. Map of event snowfall accumulations as reported by spotters, cooperative observers, and county officials.

Author's Note: The following report has not been subjected to the scientific peer review process.

1.  Event Overview

On 9 January 2007, a moderate snowfall event occurred across the mountains 
of western North Carolina.  Snowfall accumulations ranged from trace amounts 
as far south as northern Rabun County in Georgia, to greater than 5 inches 
along portions of the North Carolina/Tennessee border counties (Fig. 1).  
An event maximum snowfall of 7 inches occurred in western Graham County, 
North Carolina, along the Cherohala Skyway, and in southern Yancey County, 
North Carolina, at Mount Mitchell State Park (Fig. 1).  Overall, snowfall 
accumulations across the area were characterized by significant horizontal 
and vertical spatial variability, as is typical of northwest flow snowfall 
(NWFS) events (Perry and Konrad 2004).  Visible satellite imagery from the 
day following the snow event confirms the variability in accumulations.  
The bright white shades show the higher accumulations at higher elevations 
while the darker colors show the lesser accumulations in the mountain valleys 
and east of the higher terrain (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. TERRA MODIS image from 1627–1640 UTC 10 January 2007. Image from Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

On the large scale, this event occurred as a 500 mb shortwave trough moved 
across the western Carolinas on 9 January.  This feature approached the 
region on the morning of the 9th, and pushed east of the Appalachians later 
that day (Fig. 3).  At the surface, a rapidly moving cold front impinged 
upon the North Carolina/Tennessee border around sunrise, and was located 
immediately east of the mountains by mid-morning (Fig. 4).  Ahead of the 
cold front, surface winds that were southwesterly across the North Carolina 
Mountains, shifted to northwesterly following the passage of the cold front 
(Fig. 5).

Figure 3. Storm Prediction Center (SPC) objective analysis of 500 mb geopotential height, temperature, and wind at 1200 UTC 9 January 2007 (left) and 0000 UTC 10 January 2007 (right). Click on images to enlarge.

Figure 4. Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) surface fronts and pressure analysis at 1200 UTC 9 January 2007 (left) and 1500 UTC 9 January 2007 (right). Click on images to enlarge.

Figure 5. Regional surface observations at 1200 UTC 9 January 2007 (left) and 1800 UTC 9 January 2007 (right). Click on images to enlarge.

2.  Radar Observations

This snowfall event occurred in two distinct phases of precipitation.  
The first phase took place in conjunction with the approaching surface 
cold front.  Beginning at 1200 UTC an area of precipitation stretched 
from central Tennessee through Kentucky (Fig. 6) and lined up well with 
the analyzed cold front (Fig. 4).  This precipitation entered the North 
Carolina Mountains around 1500 UTC (Fig. 6), and diminished further east 
of the area by around 1700 UTC (Fig. 7).  In the wake of the cold front 
(Fig. 8), the northwesterly flow phase of the snowfall event began.  Snow 
showers developed across the North Carolina Mountains, and areas immediately 
upstream at around 2000 UTC (Fig. 9).  These snow showers were persistent 
through 2300 UTC (Fig. 9), but continued to decrease in coverage over the 
next several hours as seen at 0200 UTC on 10 January (Fig. 10).

Figure 6. Radar reflectivity mosaic at 1200 UTC 9 January 2007 (left) and 1458 UTC 9 January 2007 (right). Image from http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/radar/. Click on images to enlarge.

Figure 7. Radar reflectivity mosaic at 1656 UTC 9 January 2007. Image from http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/radar/.

Figure 8. Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) surface fronts and pressure analysis at 1800 UTC 9 January 2007.

Figure 9. Radar reflectivity mosaic at 2000 UTC 9 January 2007 (left) and 2258 UTC 9 January 2007 (right). Image from http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/radar/. Click on images to enlarge.

Figure 10. Radar reflectivity mosaic at 0156 UTC 10 January 2007. Image from http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/radar/.

3.  Discussion

During the northwest flow phase, the cellular appearance of the snow 
showers in the radar reflectivity images, suggested that instability 
played an important role, similar to the 11-13 February 2006 event.  As 
the upper air observation from Blacksburg, VA at 0000 UTC on the 10th 
shows, the northwest flow portion of the event occurred in an environment 
where a nearly dry adiabatic lapse rate was present from the surface up 
to approximately 700 mb (Fig. 11).  Not only is potential/convective 
instability present in the boundary layer in this sounding up to about
700 mb (where the equivalent potential temperature decreases with height), 
the sounding analysis also indicated that weak convective available 
potential energy (CAPE) is present even with an unmodified surface parcel.  
The presence of such instability in this phase of the event is assumed to 
be responsible for the periods of heavy snow that were reported across 
the North Carolina Mountains throughout the northwest flow period.  
Similarly, convective instability is observed upstream from the southern 
Appalachians in the upper air observation from Nashville, TN at 0000 UTC 
on the 10th as well (Fig. 11).

Figure 11. Skew-T log P diagram (upper left) and hodograph (upper right) for upper air sounding at 0000 UTC 10 January from Blacksburg, VA (RNK) (left) and Nashville, TN (right). The tables at the bottom summarize several objective parameters used by the SPC to determine severe weather potential. Image from http://www.spc.noaa.gov/exper/soundings/. Click on images to enlarge.

4.  Summary 

The 9 January 2007 NWFS event produced snowfall totals ranging from trace 
amounts up to 7 inches in a few isolated locations.  The event occurred 
with two distinct phases of precipitation.  The first was in conjunction 
with the approach and passage of a rapidly moving cold front.  After the 
frontal boundary cleared the mountains, low-level winds turned northwesterly 
beginning the second period of precipitation.  This phase appears to be at 
least partially defined by the presence of instability, primarily from the 
surface to around 700 mb.  The cellular appearance of the developing snow 
showers on radar imagery and the analysis of an upper air observation confirm 
this assumption.  The presence of this instability is similar to a previous 
NWFS event in the southern Appalachians that took place 11–13 February 2006 
and has also been noted in NWFS events in other areas of the country 
(St. Jean and Sisson 2004).

References

Perry, L.B., and C. E. Konrad, 2004: Northwest flow snowfall in the southern
     Appalachians: spatial and synoptic patterns. Proceedings of the 61st
     Eastern Snow Conference, 179-189.

St. Jean, D. and P.A. Sisson, 2004: Characteristics of upslope snowfall 
     events in northern New York state and northern Vermont: diagnostics 
     and model simulations of several northwest-flow cases. Preprints, 
     20th Conf. on Weather Analysis and Forecasting, Seattle, WA, Amer. 
     Met. Soc., CD-ROM, 18.4.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Larry Lee and Pat Moore for offering opinions on an early 
draft of this event summary and for help with the html coding.  The upper 
air analysis and sounding graphics were obtained from the Storm Prediction 
Center.  The surface analysis graphic was obtained from the Hydrometeorological 
Prediction Center. The regional surface plots, satellite imagery, and radar 
mosaic images were obtained from the University Corporation for Atmospheric 
Research.