Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Great Smoky Mountains national park roads close after being pounded by last nights storm.

Roads crews and national park rangers are surveying damage and cleaning up what they can right now in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

While all roads in the GSMNP received damage due to fallen trees, limbs and rocks, Laurel Creek Road the entrance road to Cades Cove and Wears Cove Road between Wears Valley and the Metcalf bottoms area of Little River Road are now closed to all traffic.

The Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail off Cherokee Orchard Road has enough limbs and smalls trees down, that the park service has closed it for the winter season a day earlier than scheduled.

Laurel Creek Road should be open by 9:00 am, but crews are still trying to determine of Cades Cove can be opened then as well.

Cherokee Orchard Road past Rainbow falls has a large tree down which crews are working on and Newfound Gap Road between Cherokee North Carolina and Gatlinburg Tennessee is open as well as Clingmans Dome Road and Little River Road.

Today is the last day that Clingmans Dome Road is open as tomorrow it will be closed for the winter season.

Additional high winds and rain is expected to further pound the Tennessee and North Carolina Smokies today with wind and flood advisories and warnings throughout the area. Check out our live up to the minute Smokies weather reports and our new live weather station feed and Road Conditions in the Smoky Mountains.

Update 11/30/10 9:01 am
Laurel Creek Road is now open but Cades Cove Loop Road is closed to all traffic until crews can finish cleaning up all of last nights storm debris.

Update 11/30/10 9:05 am
Upper Tremont Road is now closed to all traffic.

Update 11/30/10 11:22 am
Cades Cove is now open but Greenbrier Entrance Road is now closed.

Friday, November 05, 2010

Newfound Gap Road (US441) is closed from Cherokee to Gatlinburg and more snow on the way

First Clingmans Dome Road closed yesterday due to snow and ice, and then as the snowfall increased and the ice built, Newfound Gap Road between Gatlinburg Tennessee and Cherokee North Carolina was then closed by rangers in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Crews working on the roadway right now are plowing and resending some areas in hope that Newfound Gap Road can be reopened again to at least 4 wheel drive vehicles.

Since there is a Winter storm warning above 3,500 feet and under 3,500 there is a Winter weather advisory in effect until noon edt Saturday, chances are high that of Newfound Gap us 441 will be closed again for at least some of the weekend.

Update 11-05-2010 12:53 pm. It does not look as if Newfound Gap Road will reopen today.