Some Climate-Altitude Relationships in the Southern Appalachian Mountain Region

Abstract

The variation of certain climatic elements with elevation is examined for Tennessee-North Carolina portions of the Southern Appalachian region. Regression equations relating elevation to annual, January, and July mean temperatures and mean daily temperature ranges and to length of growing season are derived. Early growing-season data for 15 mountain-valley systems in western North Carolina are examined and regression lines developed relating length of growing season to elevation for valley and summit locations. These regression lines adjusted for departure of early data from long-term averages appear applicable to recent long-term data and present a useful means of refining the growing season-elevation relationship. Although a satisfactory precipitation-elevation relationship is unattainable due presumably to slope and exposure effects, an estimate is given of the mean annual snowfall-elevation relationship. Graphs are presented showing the variation of potential evapotranspiration with elevation based on computations for selected locations from 1075 ft to 6684 ft; results are believed representative of the entire area under consideration.