The Ingles Table, an online content series which highlights recipes and rising culinary talent, filmed its “Holiday Homecoming” program at A-B Tech’s Asheville campus on Nov. 14, donating $5,000 to local nonprofit organizations at the event’s conclusion. The 30-minute episode followed four Ingles All Star chefs, each competing on behalf of a local charity, as […]
AB-Tech’s literary arts journal, The Rhapsodist, includes original art, poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction and dramatic dialogue. A faculty advisor and three other college staff members assist in the process of selecting material as well as the layout and printing of the journal. The publication is distributed on the A-B Tech campus at no cost […]
After nearly a year of debate, Buncombe County commissioners unanimously voted Jan. 14 to spend $40.5 million to build a new Asheville Middle School.
At the Nov. 12 Asheville City Council meeting — the last meeting held before new members (and a new mayor) are sworn in — concealed handgun laws and revised construction plans for a health and workforce development facility were hot topics on the agenda.
At its Nov. 12 meeting, the last one with the current Asheville City Council, handguns on playgrounds and a changing design for a new A-B Tech facility are chief on the agenda.
Our wet spring has helped to bring an amazing display of color across the region as the Rhododendron are in bloom across many of the higher elevations. If you’re socked in, listening to the Sunday rain, keep in mind that colorful flowers may soon follow.
Jon Snover thought he’d found his dream job at a fuel-cell company in 2001 — and that, as lead chemist for the company, he was going to change the world by developing advanced technology to solve society’s energy crisis
Extensive rains across the region over the weekend caused numerous problems with flooded rivers, creeks, roads, downed trees and landslides. And we can look to a pesky area of low pressure that’s hanging out in our area as the instigator of all this trouble.
After a wet April, it looks like the large-scale weather pattern will not shift much as we head into this first week of May. And, while Asheville received above normal rainfall for the month of April, some locations west of the French Broad River Valley were soaked with over 14 inches of rain.
In a letter sent to several local media outlets, Buncombe County Commissioner Mike Fryar apologized for calling A-B Tech President Hank Dunn a “little Hitler” and a “sick little puppy.” But the freshman commissioner continues to lambast the president in the new letter, arguing that Dunn acted outside his job description in a way that “undermines the authority of the full Board of Trustees.” He also calls for trustees who worked with Dunn on the maneuver to resign.
Were you part of the “haves” or the “have not-so-muchers” this week? Those who live in the higher elevations received a big dose of snow while the Asheville Regional Airport saw just a trace.
Winter can bring all kinds of challenges to the mountains — from cold and windy conditions like we’ve seen today to the threat for wintry weather. And, while snow can bring an almost festive vibe to our area, the threat of freezing rain or sleet is a whole other story.
After three days of rain, many locations in Western North Carolina have reported significant rainfall. Now, the larger-scale weather pattern appears to be shifting into a more winter-like pattern for the Eastern U.S., with a significant winter storm expected later today and arctic air moving in over the weekend. So, hold on: It looks like it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
While the continuing struggle over the fate of the city of Asheville’s water system was the evening’s main issue, Asheville City Council had plenty of other topics to tackle at last night’s session.
Fall brings many changes to Western North Carolina, from the turning of the leaves to the turning up of the thermostat. These cooler nights mean that many of us are heating our homes with wood-burning stoves and fireplaces to ward off the chill. Most of the time, the wood smoke (along with other particulates that are in the air) mix through much of the lowest layer of our atmosphere, called the troposphere. But when the air is cool and the winds are calm, we can occasionally see those tiny particles concentrated in the early morning air under what meteorologists call a radiational temperature inversion. Such was the case this morning, as you can see in the image below from Madison County, looking to the southeast across the valley toward the Craggies (image center) and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
It really is a magical time of the year, as our once deep-green mountainsides begin to show their fall color. The reduced daylight hours have triggered the deciduous trees’ preparation for the coming winter and, at times, it seems like the changes happen so quickly that you can see them occur overnight. I took this image Thursday morning — amazed at just how fast these trees seem to be changing.
Fog has been a common morning feature across the valleys in Western North Carolina for much of the summer and early fall. And while fog causes concern for travel because it reduces visibility, could it also be possible that the fog may be warning us of the coming winter?
This amazing image of Tropical Storm Isaac was captured just after midnight on Tuesday, Aug. 28, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite. Still off the Gulf Coast, Isaac’s clouds were lit by moonlight and the lights of cities across the Southeast U.S. are clearly visible. I’ve added labels for some of the more visible metropolitan areas, including Asheville.
The story of this summer has certainly been that of climate extremes. In Western North Carolina, we’ve had quite a bit of rain, while well over half of the lower 48 states remain in drought. Our moist summer has produced jungle-like conditions in many of our yards (errr — maybe just mine), but has also produced some breathtaking sunsets with all the moisture in the air.
A fascinating spectacle occurred on Sunday, May 20, but only viewers in the Western and Central U.S. were treated to the rare annular solar eclipse that evening. Fortunately, I was able to capture it as I was visiting the West Coast on vacation.
Last week: Western North Carolina enjoyed some beautiful weather since the rain moved out on Wednesday, May 9. Those mostly clear skies set the stage for a beautiful sunset on Thursday, evening, May 10 — with some atmospheric optics to boot!
