Reflections Upon 2018 Wetness_Upper Norton Reservoir of High Knob Massif
The wetness of 2018 was anomalous across a wide region of the eastern USA, with locations along and east of the Blue Ridge and across the Bluegrass and foothills west of the Appalachians having surpluses most above average ( up to 220%+ ).
Deviations Up to 220%+ of Normal Observed Along-East of Blue Ridge
Andrew Greear, superintendent of the City of Norton Water Plant, reported 76.69″ of total precipitation in 2018 ( noting a rain gauge spill occurred in Feb ).
That was 119% above the 64.41″ average of the past 10-years and 128% above the 59.91″ average of the past 25-years for Norton.
*Norton is the wettest town or city in Virginia over a period of a decade or more, with consistent wetness observed amid the lifting zone of the High Knob Massif.
The 68.74″ in Clintwood, by contrast, marked only the second time since record keeping began in 1964 to go above 60.00″ and shattered the old record of 60.98″ established during 2011.
**Clintwood is downslope of the High Knob Massif and the Tennessee Valley Divide on mean annual flow trajectories.
Virginia Precipitation Totals During 2018
City of Norton 76.69″
Galax 73.24″
Stuart 70.82″
Clintwood 68.74″
Danville 67.43″
Lynchburg 65.70″
Wise 63.90″
Richmond 63.73″
Charlottesville 62.59″
Roanoke 62.45″
Lebanon 61.86″
Saltville 1 N 59.81″
Grundy 59.69″
Burkes Garden 57.88″
Wytheville 1 S 56.94″
Norfolk 56.68″
Blacksburg 52.03″
Wallops Island 47.39″
Whitewater Was Abundant During 2018_High Knob Massif
Precipitation totals of 80.00-90.00″+ were common during 2018 in the High Knob Massif-Black Mountain area of far southwestern Virginia and along the Blue Ridge of Virginia.
Effective precipitation was much higher when adding in fog drip and rime deposition upon trees, with around 250 days being engulfed in clouds at upper elevations during 2018.
Rime Coated High Knob Lake Basin_High Knob Massif
Snowfall totals around 112.0″ were observed during 2018 in the High Knob Massif. This included a White Christmas ( the 20th out of the past 30 ).
Head of Big Cherry Lake Basin_High Knob Massif
2018 precipitation reached extreme values across the state of North Carolina, with totals exceeding 100″ on the coast and along portions of the Blue Ridge.
A persistent E-SE flow during many events generated a large contrast across the southern Appalachians. A total of 139.94″ in Mount Mitchell State Park was in contrast to 111.43″ on Mount LeConte, Tn., and nearly 9.95″ more than the 129.99″ at Lake Toxaway 2 SW in southwestern North Carolina.
Lake Toxaway generally reports more than Mount Mitchell and has the second highest annual average in the eastern USA, next to the highly monitored Mount Washington, NH Observatory site in the White Mountains.
