Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce

Chamber of Commerce, Columbus, Tryon & Saluda NC and Landrum SC

828-859-6236

  • Join Chamber
  • Events
  • Find a Business
  • Login (and to renew membership)
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • Home
  • About The Chamber
  • Chamber Newsletters
  • News
  • Visit
  • Foundation
  • Contact Us
  • Chamber Volunteer Opportunities
  • Member Home

The Climate of the Carolina Foothills

January 3, 2012 By the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce

Our mountains and valleys provide a variety of weather conditions. The presence of thermal winds provides a pleasingly mild climate for the residents of the lower elevations. Polk County, situated within the Thermal Belt, has a mean annual rainfall of 62 inches, a mean temperature of 60 degrees; a summer mean of 75 degrees and winter mean of 44 degrees. Mean annual snowfall is 4.9 inches.

For many years the expression “isothermal belt” or “thermal belt” has been used to describe certain sections of North Carolina which enjoy a more equitable climate than neighboring regions of comparable altitude and latitude. The questions “what are these isothermal belts?” and “why do they exist?” arise frequently, and not all are clearly answered.

However, one of North Carolina’s leading year-round resorts, Tryon, in the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has developed in an area known as a thermal belt. In neighboring Rutherford County, the town of Rutherfordton enjoys a thermal belt climate, and a nearby community is named Thermal City. Smaller thermal belt areas across western North Carolina are favored locations for apple orchards. Tryon grapes are still a well-known product of the Tryon area, but in recent years their place in the town’s economy has been far surpassed by the value of the travel industry and the increasing popularity of the region with people seeking home sites for their retirement years.

*W. N. Hutt, former horticulturist for the State of North Carolina, writes in an article on “Thermal Belts from the Horticultural Viewpoint” that until he came to North Carolina in 1906 he had never heard of a thermal belt or of a verdant zone. Fruit growers used the terms, and Mr. Hutt writes:

“Practical men who make their living from Mother Earth in fruits, vegetables, grains or other products are close observers of nature and her laws. They may not always be able to correctly interpret her ways and define her laws, but if they have observed any phenomenon and formulated any practice from it you may be pretty sure there is something in it, and you will be unwise if you disregard it without investigation.”

Mr. Hutt made a lengthy study of thermal belts and verdant zones which appears as an appendix to the U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture’s Monthly Weather Review Supplement No. 19, published 1923, on “Thermal Belts and Fruit Growing in North Carolina.”

Mr. Hutt describes the thermal belt as being similar to a will-o’-the-wisp which always seemed to elude his grasp, but he did draw the conclusion that thermal belts are a reality and that North Carolina seems to have a monopoly on them. He advances the explanation that this is because one-third of the state’s area is made up of rolling Piedmont hills stretching up to another third, containing the highest elevations east of the Mississippi River. His preliminary survey resulted in the U.S. Weather Bureau’s setting observation stations at 16 western North Carolina areas where apples, grapes or peaches are grown, and making a study of frost pockets, high top freezes, and the fact that sometimes, in a year when weather conditions were so unfavorable over the state that it would seem impossible that any fruit could survive, some section, or some orchards in a section, would bear a phenomenal crop.

In the 1941 Yearbook of Agriculture, published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Herbert E. Kichline, associate meteorologist and climatic section director for the North Carolina Weather Bureau, Raleigh, included a statement about thermal belts in his summary of North Carolina’s climates:

“An outstanding characteristic in western North Carolina is the thermal belts,” he wrote, “which are probably more pronounced here than at any other place in the eastern United States. Frequent observations have shown temperature inversions of 20 degrees or more along some mountainsides.”

Inversion is the term used to describe a condition occurring when on certain cool nights the temperature is relatively high on the slope of a mountain—much higher than at the base.

Over a period of four years, records kept by the U.S. Weather Bureau on six selected long slopes (having a vertical height of 1,000 feet or more) showed a total of 860 inversions for the six slopes together in one year (1913) and in no year did the number fall as low as 800. The largest for the entire period was Ellijay, in the southwestern section of the mountains. The greatest single inversion at any hour was 30 degrees at Cane River. Altapass in Mitchell had the smallest number, 173. Globe in Caldwell County near Blowing Rock, and Tryon, in Polk County at the southern tip of the mountains, had 26. Inversions occur most frequently in the spring and autumn, and August generally has the smallest number.

While inversions and thermal areas occur in a number of localities in the mountains, the results in most areas are evident only in the successful growing of apples and other fruits. At Tryon, however, thermal belt climate has contributed heavily to resort prosperity.

Quoting from the U.S. Weather Bureau Report: “Because of the peculiar topographical features at Tryon which affect the flow of air, there are some remarkable variations in the extent and the amount of inversions during the course of a year. Normally, the middle of the thermal belt lies at an elevation of only 400 feet above the valley floor. On no other slope is the center of the thermal belt found so close to the valley floor.”

It is on such slopes that the famous Tryon grapes ripen in late summer. The same climate that produces the grapes contributed to Tryon’s development as a resort.

*W.B. No. 796, U.S. Department of Agriculture Weather Bureau MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW SUPPLEMENT NO. 19. Thermal Belts and Fruit Growing in North Carolina and Thermal Belts from the Horticultural Viewpoint. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Travel and Promotion Division Dept. of Natural & Economic Resources, Raleigh, NC

Filed Under: Living Here

CHAMBER EVENTS

Shuckin’ with the Chamber
March 25, 2023

Bites for Boosting Your Business in April 2023
April 13, 2023

Business After Hours April 2023
April 27, 2023

Business After Hours May 2023
May 25, 2023


View Chamber Calendar


CAROLINA FOOTHILLS EVENTS

No Entries Found

View Community Calendar

Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce Events

Bites for Boosting Your Business in April 2023

April 13, 2023
(8:00 AM-9:30 AM)

Come join the Chamber for this Morning Learning Session! (8:00 – 8:30 a.m. – Breakfast bites and networking) 

This Quarter’s Topic: Story to Sell 

Shannon Zimmerman has an MFA in fiction writing and is a published author. She has 15 years of experience with Parsons Corporation as a copywriter and corporate storyteller, making her uniquely qualified to guide you in your own business storytelling for marketing and SEO purposes. Come learn the following and walk away with a plan to boost your business!

  • What is brand storytelling?
  • Why do businesses need to storytell in their marketing?
  • 7-Step Brand Story Framework
  • Come away with a 1-page messaging doc for all the copy needed for website, blog, ads, and email marketing
  • Practical applications for applying the messaging 

Special thanks to our 2023 Raffle Prize Sponsor: Voisin Enterprises 

Space is limited, so please RSVP

Cost: Free

Location: Looking Glass Realty, 108 East Main Street Saluda, NC

Contact: Sarah Leatham (828)-606-1740


Business After Hours April 2023

April 27, 2023
(5:30 PM-7:30 PM)

HOSTED BY:   BRIGHT’S CREEK CLUB

Please RSVP

Directions

The premier networking events for business professionals.

  1. Gain more exposure for your business
  2. Network with other business persons in the area
  3. Discuss and share ideas
  4. Learn about and tour other local businesses
  5. Find contacts and resources that will benefit you and your business

This is your time to network and get out there in the community. Bring your business cards and even a door prize to promote your business even more.

There will be food and refreshments served.

Cost: Free

Location: Bright’s Creek Club 335 Clubhouse, Mill Spring, NC 28756

Contact: Chamber Office (828)-859-6236


Business After Hours May 2023

May 25, 2023
(5:30 PM-7:30 PM)

HOSTED BY:  

TILE SPECIALTIES/COLUMBUS DESIGN CENTER

202 E. Mills St. Columbus NC 28722

Please RSVP

Directions

The premier networking events for business professionals.

  1. Gain more exposure for your business
  2. Network with other business persons in the area
  3. Discuss and share ideas
  4. Learn about and tour other local businesses
  5. Find contacts and resources that will benefit you and your business

This is your time to network and get out there in the community. Bring your business cards and even a door prize to promote your business even more.

There will be food and refreshments served.

Cost: Free

Location: Tile Specialties 202 East Mills Street, Columbus NC

Contact: Chamber Office (828)-859-6236


Carolina Foothills Community Events

No Entries Found

Visit First Peak for a community calendar of events in our area.

Or download another  Community Calendar

Saluda Outfitters Feb 2023 Music Schedule

Make plans!

Upcoming Events:

CHAMBER EVENTS

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Our Communities

  • Polk County NC
  • Columbus NC
  • Landrum SC
  • Saluda NC
  • Tryon NC



Our Annual Sponsors

First Citizens Bank Forever First
Duke Energy
Alchemi Wealth Horizontal Logo B&G
Tryon Horse & Home Logo - Karl Small
Voisin Enterprises

STAND OUT,
BECOME AN ANNUAL SPONSOR

Sponsor Agreement
  • Member Home
  • Privacy Notice
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Chamber News
  • Chamber of Commerce Events
  • About The Chamber
  • Chamber Directory
  • Living in the Carolina Foothills
  • Visit the Carolina Foothills

Carolina Foothills Chamber

2753 Lynn Road
Suite A
Tryon NC 28782 (Get Directions)
828-859-6236
Email Us

Hours:
Mon - Closed
Tues - 8-1pm
Wed - By appt
Thurs - 8-1pm
Fri - 10-2pm
Copyright © Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce · Polk County NC · Tryon NC · Columbus NC · Saluda NC · Landrum SC · Phone 828-859-6236 · Log in