Grandfather Mountain Installs New Wind Gauge Equipment At Mile High Swinging Bridge Summit

By Frank Ruggiero
Installing a wind gauge atop Grandfather Mountain’s Mile High Swinging Bridge is no breeze.
Nonetheless, staff members mounted an anemometer on top of one of the bridge’s I-beams last Monday.
Fortunately, the wind was in their favor that day, though the air still tends to be rather cold on a winter’s day at a mile above sea level.
On Jan. 24, 2006, the mountain’s old anemometer, located on the roof of the “Top Shop,” the aptly titled gift store at the top of the mountain, recorded wind speeds of at least 200 miles per hour.
“This brought a lot of attention to us and there was some debate as to the location of the old anemometer and if it was being effective — if the winds were actually being recorded faster than they actually are,” Landis Wofford, news director of Grandfather Mountain, said.
Meteorologists debated the record wind because of its location on a building, saying the winds hit the building’s side to be diverted upward and forced to the top of the building, where they spilled over at an accelerated rate.
Grandfather Mountain president Crae Morton accepted their challenge and decided to mount another weather station to gather data and compare it with the old data.
In March 2006, Morton invited meteorologists, including Baker Perry and Pete Soule from Appalachian State University’s geography department, Ryan Boyles from the N.C. State Climatology Office, and Grant Gouge and Larry Lee from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, to join him atop the mountain and seek a suitable location for a new anemometer.
Morton and company toured the ridge, and the meteorologists recommended the anemometer be placed atop a 10-meter tower to avoid turbulence created when wind hits a solid object.
“It was a challenge to determine the best spot for the new weather station,” Morton said. “We had to consider visitor safety, environmentally sensitive areas, and being able to maintain and power it.”
The view-shed from below was also considered, as a 10-meter tower could likely be seen from N.C. 105. “We didn’t want to put up a weather station that would compromise the views of Grandfather Mountain,” Morton said.
The tower was placed in two test locations to gather input from visitors. Morton considered using Linville Peak, but the tower would have to be guided down particularly rugged landscape. The parking lot was also considered, but Morton said those areas were deemed inadequate for numerous reasons.
The Mile High Swinging Bridge “made the most sense,” he said.
“We want to get good data and really see the accuracy of the current anemometer,” Morton said.
This January, Ameen Syed with the N.C. State Climatology Office visited to assemble and test the equipment, while troubleshooting any issues that might transpire during the device’s installation.
Last Monday afternoon, staff members Ronnie Vance, Richard Brown, and Tim Henderson took advantage of relatively mild weather and placed the anemometer atop the bridge, as curious visitors looked on.
Workers had earlier welded a metal plate to the top of the bridge’s I-beam.
Vance scaled a ladder to secure the device. The control box was also welded to the side of the bridge, as drilling could compromise the bridge’s integrity.
Grandfather Mountain naturalist Jesse Pope said the control box gathers the anemometer’s data and sends it to the computer station in the Top Shop. The battery-powered device detects dewpoint and humidity, Pope said, while sensors detect the actual temperature, taking sunlight and wind into account. The box also includes an ice-resistant Teflon coating. “Any ice should just blow right off it,” Pope said.
Last Thursday, two of the experts, Perry and Boyles, returned to the mountaintop to gauge whether or not the anemometer was effective. Wofford said the anemometer is collecting data, but the proper computer codes that will compare the new data with the old have not yet been written.
Wofford expects they’ll have something concrete early this week. The anemometer will remain on the bridge for at least a couple of months to compare data, which will be broadcasted on the mountain’s Web site.
Despite the readings, Thomas Huskins, manager of the mountaintop, can personally attest to high wind speeds. “The highest wind speed I’ve personally seen was 196,” Huskins said, adding that staff members typically don’t venture outside during such occasions.
Huskins said he’s curious to see what readings it gathers, considering the new device registers wind speeds up to 150 mph.
“It’ll be interesting,” he said.
“I have a feeling it’ll max it out here in the next little bit.”