x
Breaking News
More () »

Crews clear 150+ trees from Smokies roads; damage to trails unknown

Hurricane-force gusts in the Great Smoky Mountains knocked more than 150 trees onto park roadways this weekend.

GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Shards of wood and sawdust covered the roadsides in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) on Monday. The minor debris was the only obvious remnant of a powerful weekend storm that downed more than 150 trees on park roadways.

Gusts up to 77 miles per hour battered the Tennessee side of the Smokies on Saturday and early Sunday. The winds forced the park to close many of its main roads from Saturday morning until noon Sunday during one of the busiest weekends of the year for tourism.

"We had a peak wind of 77 miles per hour at Cove Mountain and sustained winds of 40 to 50 miles per hour through the storm. Our teams really came together to be able to close the roads for safety, then assess the damage and get those roads reopened quickly," said Dana Soehn, GSMNP spokesperson.

Soehn said the roads were packed with tourists enjoying the fall colors when weather grew too dangerous to allow traffic inside the park.

Credit: Karla McRae
A downed tree blocks the road during a wind storm in the Great Smoky Mountains. Photo Submitted by Karla McRae.

"There were some tense moments Saturday when the winds started to come in. We actually had one of our ranger vehicles struck by a tree.  We had a total of four motor vehicle accidents where cars were struck by fallen trees. We also had one hiker injured on Alum Cave Trail and our team was able to get the hiker to an ambulance," said Soehn.

The North Carolina side of the park was "virtually untouched," according to Soehn.  

"This is another example of those 'mountain wave' storms that we're starting to see more of, especially during the fall and spring time periods. You're starting to see more wind advisories and strong wind storms," said Soehn.

Strong mountain wave winds, also known as leeward winds, often occur in the Smokies when storms approach from the south or southeast.  Simply put, the winds flow over the peaks and then accelerate down the steep northwestern slopes.  The effect is similar to when water in a stream speeds up and creates downstream waves after it flows over a submerged boulder.

Credit: WBIR
Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

"The winds down at Cove Mountain were much higher than what we saw at higher elevations, such as Clingmans Dome," said Soehn. 

The wildfires of 2016 also contributed to the large number of downed trees on Newfound Gap Road and the Gatlinburg Bypass. Those areas have many standing trees that were killed in the fire. Those trees will likely continue to fall for several years.

The park is yet to determine the amount of damage to hundreds of miles of hiking trails through the Smokies.

"The work has just started for whatever damage we may have had on the trails.  We will be checking the trails and also doing more extensive clearing on the roads. What we did Sunday was clear them enough to make them passable," said Soehn.

RELATED: Oct. 28, 2019 - Popular GSMNP roads reopen after high winds, downed trees

RELATED: Oct. 26, 2019 - 1,307 without power in Gatlinburg from Spur to GSMNP

RELATED: Oct. 26, 2019 - GSMNP closes campgrounds due to anticipated wind growth

Before You Leave, Check This Out