Drought creeps into WNC

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has classified parts of Western North Carolina as being in a moderate drought.

North Carolina gets dryer

The North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council has classified the whole state as at least abnormally dry and a moderate drought has spread in the eastern part of the state, according to the latest advisory released Thursday.  

Parts of WNC abnormally dry

Following the deluge brought on by Hurricane Helene, parts of Western North Carolina are now considered abnormally dry, while some of the state’s easternmost counties are now in a moderate drought. 

Letting go isn’t always so easy

Have you noticed how stunning the fall colors are this year? A plethora of factors affect the autumn hues, making some years rather drab and others, like this one, pop with kaleidoscope vibrancy. Every day I’ve stood in awe at the splendor. 

GOP’s intent is to handcuff NOAA

To the Editor:

I am concerned about the effects of “Project 2025” — the Republican playbook for a second Trump administration — on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Project 2025 aims to change how federal agencies operate, and it could harm NOAA’s ability to do its work. 

Despite flooding, Jackson escapes worst of Hurricane Helene impact

Jackson County was largely spared the damning effects of Hurricane Helene from which its neighbors to the east are still reeling. However, heavy rains and high winds have left thousands without power, water and telephone or internet service.  

AGAIN: Horrific storm damage will remake Western North Carolina

AGAIN. For the second time in three years, Haywood County, the highest east of the Mississippi River, experienced devastating flooding from a tropical weather system that reached mountainous Southern Appalachia’s narrow, rocky canyons and broad, lush river valleys — wiping out whole towns, inundating normally impregnable areas and crippling the communications and transportation infrastructure that powers public safety, commerce and the dissemination of information. 

Living off the grid for 40 years

In a book written in a first-person, vulnerable and intimately entertaining narrative oral storytelling voice, Ken Smith takes us through his entire life — of youthful globe-trotting adventure and hardship, to an eventual life of self-sufficiency and spiritual awareness in Scotland.

This must be the place: 'It was the work of the quiet mountains, this torrent of purity at my feet'

Hello from Room 204 at The Pendry hotel in the Canyons Village of the Park City Mountain Resort in Utah. After a weekend of mostly sunny skies and lush high desert mountains surrounding this bucolic property, it’s currently 65 degrees with a vicious thunderstorm on this otherwise lazy Sunday evening. 

North Carolina free from extreme drought

North Carolina is free from extreme drought in the latest advisory issued by the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC) on Thursday.

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