Mountain City, TN is located in the far upper northeast corner of TN, high in the mountains at an elevation of 2499' feet above sea level, with ridge tops climbing to close to 6,000 feet. Due to it's geographical location, Mountain City experiences four distinct seasons.

Springs here in the east TN mountains can be rather "frustrating" to the locals as late season snow can fall well into April, and on an extreme case, even May. That said, as a whole, temperatures return to very pleasant levels. Late season frosts and freezes typically occur up until the middle of May.

Summers are very warm and humid and afternoon thunderstorms are common each day. In fact, the majority of our moisture comes from late day thunderstorms during this time of the year, although tropical "remnants" can also help "boost" summer rainfall. Temperatures rarely reach the 90 degree mark, and average highs climb into the lower 80s with overnight lows falling into the upper 50s.

Autumn is simply glorious in this area. The fall peak color season usually occurs in the second to third week of October, although this is dependant on the first frost, and is variable from year to year. The combination of the changing leaves and cool, crisp days make it an ideal Autumn location.

With the elevation, snow storms are very numerous in the mountains of Johnson County, especially from December through February, although snow has been known to fall as early as October. Typically, Mountain City averages 30 inches of snow a season, with the higher peaks surrounding town accumulating close to 60 to 70 inches during any given year. Sleet and freezing rain events are also typical of some of the winter storms as they move through the region. Low temperatures can go as low as well below zero during the winter (the coldest temperature recorded in TN occured right here, back in December of 1917, at a frigid 32 degrees below zero), while a few winter days can reach the 50s to near 60.

Mountain City, Tennessee Climate Data

November, 2008

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