Portions of Blue Ridge Parkway Closed Due To Hurricane Nate

Portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway closed today. Hurricane Nate has made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane. It made landfall Saturday night about 8:00pm near the mouth of the Mississippi River on the Gulf Coast.  The remnants of Hurricane Nate will head north and east dumping heavy rain and high winds. This area of concern includes Western North Carolina. In anticipation of the possibility of heavy rain and high winds the park service will close portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Closures begin on Saturday at 5:00pm. The two portions being closed are both in the North Carolina portion of the parkway.

10/9/17 Update to Closures: Only one section of the Blue Ridge Parkway remains closed now. The remnants of Nate blew down trees and caused lots of fallen debris on the parkway in certain spots. The small section is still in need of cleanup and therefore still closed. The section closed is from Deep Gap at MP 276 to MP 268 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. As soon as cleanup is completed the park service will reopen this section to all.

Here is the statement National Park Service made public concerning the closure:

On Saturday, October 7, 2017, portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway will begin closing at 5:00 p.m. in anticipation of high winds and heavy rains due to the remnants of Hurricane Nate. Saturated soils in combination with high winds in these areas increase the risk of rock slide and falling trees and debris. Closures in effect as of 5:00 p.m. include:

– Milepost 355.2 (Mt. Mitchell State Park) – 382 (Folk Art Center), including access to the Craggy Gardens Area
– Milepost 411.5 (US Route 276) – 469, including access to Waterrock Knob

Access to Mt. Pisgah will remain available at this time. The Pisgah Inn and Mt. Pisgah Campground will also remain open this evening.
During the closure these sections of Parkway are closed to ALL use, including cyclists and hikers. Attempts to route around gates and barriers is prohibited. The public’s cooperation with these closures is important to personal safety as well as the protection of Parkway resources.
Updates to these closure areas will be noted in the coming days on the Parkway’s online Real Time Road Map.

Hopefully the remnants of Nate will not cause too much damage to the North Carolina mountains. October is the month with the most visitors to the parkway. The fall foliage season is just beginning. The warm temperatures have slowed down the progression of fall colors in the trees. The mid and lower elevations should peak about the middle and last week of this month. If the leaves can withstand the windy conditions and not fall off prematurely then the mid and lower elevations should result in a nice ending to the fall foliage season along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Hurricane Nate Closes Portions of BRP