An unusually strong cold front will move through the area late this weekend, and will persist over WNC through mid next week. Some models even drop Asheville to 38 degrees early Tuesday morning. There will even be a chance for frost to occur in some locations, especially above 3500’. Below you can see the most recent European model projection for Asheville over the next 10 days. Notice how temperatures will only top out in the upper 60’s both Saturday and Sunday afternoons, it is going to be nice!
The coldest September air mass since 2015 will filter into the Carolinas this weekend, bringing fall-like weather and blue skies. We will likely see the first freeze of the season above 6000', but don't even think about the s-word. It's not time yet #WNCwx pic.twitter.com/Mpwjhe5TSA
— Evan Fisher (@EFisher828) September 18, 2020
Cool & Dry The Theme Over Next 7 Days
What a wonderful week in store for Fall temperature lovers. The next 7 days should be dry, and with cooler temperatures this will really aid the leaf transition, especially in the highest elevations. AshevilleWX Team Member Evan Fisher produced the incredible 3D leaf map below to help you plan your fall color trips! Though we won’t see any color change this weekend, I bet the highest elevations begin to change by the end of next weekend!
Where To See Fall Color First?
Evan has also produced several maps of isolated locations and I will begin to release them over the next several days. To begin though I will share his image of the Clingmans Dome area. This also included fall color for the Gatlinburg area as well. You can use this as a rough guide of when to visit which elevations. Clingmans Dome peak reaches over 6000’ and will be one of the first areas to see fall color, but with mainly pine trees at that elevation, fall color could be sparse. Check back over the course of the next two weeks as we release more maps and tell you the best spots to visit to see fall color around WNC!