Snowfall hit mountain towns devastated by Hurricane Helene, where residents are still recovering from the horrific storm.

A cold front blasted through the region, plunging temperatures below freezing in places where people remain without power.

Areas of higher elevation had multiple inches of snowfall on Wednesday.

“At least 3 inches of snow were measured on Big Bald mountain in North Carolina on Wednesday as the local National Weather Service forecast freezing temperatures continuing into Wednesday night,” FOX Weather reports.

“This is in Swannanoa, NC. These are the homes of families who lost everything in #Helene flooding. They are living in tents,” one X user commented.

“Blankets, coats, propane & heaters, and everything that keeps you warm is what they need. Temperatures will dip into the 20s at night this week,” she added.

FOX Weather reports:

Temperatures plummeted to 19 degrees in Highlands, North Carolina, on Thursday morning. Just a few miles away, atop Clingmans Dome at 6,600 feet, the mercury dipped to a chilly 21 degrees.

In Asheville, North Carolina, which had been forecast to approach its record low of 31 degrees for the day Thursday, remained significantly warmer with a low of 37 degrees.

In the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee, temperatures dropped to 34 degrees, marking the coldest reading since April 23. Nolichucky, Tennessee, which had experienced devastating flooding from the Nolichucky River, saw temperatures fall to 30 degrees.

Daytime high temperatures will struggle to rise above the 50s, which the FOX Forecast Center said is more reminiscent of December and January than mid-October.

Freeze Warnings and Frost Advisories have been issued across western North Carolina due to the falling temperatures, which are undoubtedly affecting residents who remain without power.

“We had literally been sleeping in our shed because of water damage, and it was so cold,” Waynesville resident Jeanne Tierney Vavruska told Fox News Digital.

“This was last week when the temperatures weren’t nearly as bad. I’m so grateful we only lost power for a couple of weeks and had a little water damage,” she added.

“Snow fell in some mountain towns in North Carolina that were hit by Hurricane Helene nearly three weeks ago. Thousands are still without power as the cold and snow arrive,” AccuWeather wrote.

“It’s snowing. We will be bringing supplies to keep these folks warm next trip. Many of them will also need somewhere live. More to come,” UncoverDC Editor-in-Chief Tracy Beanz said.

Per Fox News:

Fox Carolina issued a weather-related First Alert for the “coldest air of the season so far” on Wednesday and Thursday. The mountains were forecast to have feel-like temperatures in the 20s, raising concern for those still without power.

As a result, cold weather shelters opened in Buncombe County, where Helene swept away homes, cut power and destroyed crucial parts of the water system for Asheville, a city of about 94,000 people. The storm decimated remote towns and killed at least 246 people throughout the Appalachians, where massive cleanup efforts have been complicated by washed-out bridges and roads. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since Katrina in 2005.

 

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