23 September 2022
Water Elevation 3500 feet
High Knob Lake Recreation Area
Early Color Changes in High Knob Massif
Pockets of developing color were just in time for the 16th Annual High Knob Naturalist Rally, held in person this year on 24 September 2022 within beautiful High Knob Lake Recreation Area of the Jefferson National Forest.
( Large section - Allow Time To Load )
23 September 2022
Rose Ashley and Phil Shelton
Canoeing Buoys Down High Knob Lake
Wayne Browning Photograph © All Rights Reserved
An array of chilly September nights, with temperatures in the 40s and 30s have kicked
off Autumn 2022 in the high country.
Coldest nights have featured minimum temperatures around freezing in high valleys upstream of Big Cherry Lake (as of the 1-26 September period).
23 September 2022
Water Elevation 3318 feet
Upper Norton Reservoir of High Knob Massif
Wayne Browning Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Coldest nights of the early Autumn are expected to develop this week, in advance of any impacts from Hurricane Ian, with below freezing temperatures in colder mountain valleys (especially within upper elevation basins of Big Cherry, Burkes Garden, and
Canaan Valley where a hard freeze will occur).
Precipitation Update
High Knob Massif
(Upper Elevations)
(Totals Listed By AM Measurement Format)
Monthly Total Precipitation
Big Cherry Lake Dam
(Elevation 3139 feet)
2019
January
6.14"
February
12.50"
Winter 2018-19
(1 Dec-29 Feb)
26.56"
March
5.93"
April
6.64"
May
6.75"
Spring 2019
(1 Mar-31 May)
19.32"
June
10.68"
July
10.77"
August
4.15"
Summer 2019
(1 Jun-31 Aug)
25.60"
September
0.63"
October
5.01"
( 5.89" to Midnight 31st )
November
5.20"
( 7.04" to Midnight 30th )
Autumn 2019
(1 Sep-31 Oct)
10.84"
December
8.52"
2019 Total: 82.92" (M)
(January 1 to December 31 Period)
2020
*January
7.15"
**February
13.01"
Winter 2019-20
(1 Dec-29 Feb)
28.68"
March
9.55"
( 10.77" to Midnight 31st )
April
11.59"
May
8.73"
(6.90" on Eagle Knob of High Knob Massif)
Spring 2020
(1 Mar-31 May)
29.87"
June
7.48"
July
9.72"
(10.48" to Midnight 31st)
August
8.12"
Summer 2020
(1 Jun-31 Aug)
25.32"
September
6.21"
October
7.06"
November
1.96"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 0.5")
Autumn 2020
(1 Sep-31 Oct)
15.23"
December
6.22"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 34.0")
2020 Total: 96.80" (M)
(January 1 to December 31 Period)
2021
January
6.35"
***(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 34.0")
February
7.42"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 19.5")
Winter 2020-21
(1 Dec to 28 Feb)
19.99"
(21.70" on Eagle Knob)
March
10.82"
(11.14" to Midnight 31st)
April
2.53"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 2.5")
May
4.54"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: Trace)
Spring 2021
(1 Mar-31 May)
17.89"
June
4.79"
July
5.55"
August
10.39"
Summer 2021
(1 June-31 August)
20.73"
September
5.82"
October
3.80"
November
2.23"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 1.5")
3 days with 1" or more depth
Autumn 2021
(1 Sep-30 Nov)
11.85"
December
4.63"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 1.0")
Several days with Trace depths
2021 Total: 68.87"
(January 1 to December 31 Period)
2022
January
8.74"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 40.0")
29 days with 1" or more depth
February
10.32"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 3.5")
14 days with 1" or more depth
Winter 2021-22
(1 Dec to 28 Feb)
23.69"
March
4.23"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 13.5")
8 days with 1" or more depth
April
3.28"
(Eagle Knob Snowfall: 9.0")
5 days with 1" or more depth
May
7.98"
Spring 2022
(1 Mar to 31 May)
15.49"
June
2.18"
July
9.80"
(11.06" through Midnight)
August
7.97"
Summer 2022
(1 Jun to 31 Aug)
19.95"
1-26 September
2.47"
2022 Total: 56.97"
(January 1 to September 26 Period)
November 2019-October 2020: 102.34"
Autumn 2018 to Summer 2019: 91.21"
Autumn 2019 to Summer 2020: 94.44"
Autumn 2020 to Summer 2021: 73.84"
Autumn 2021 to Summer 2022: 70.98"
48-Month Annual Average: 82.62''
(Autumn 2018-Summer 2022)
(M): Some missing moisture in undercatch and frozen precipitation, with corrections applied for the 24.4 meter (80 feet) tall dam structure where rain gauges are located. Corrections are based upon 86-months of direct comparisons between NWS and IFLOWS at Big Cherry Dam (including occasional snow core-water content data).
High Knob Naturalist Rally
(16th Annual In 2022)
Spectacular weather conditions were observed during 23 September, as preparations were made for this 16th Naturalist Rally.
23 September 2022
High Knob Lake Basin
High-Elevation Cove Forest
23 September 2022
High Knob Lake Basin
Early Autumn Reflections
Wayne Browning Photograph © All Rights Reserved
23 September 2022
High Knob Lake Basin
Pulling Buoys Down the Lake
Wayne Browning Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Weather conditions changed radically for Rally day, with chilly rain and misty morning conditions.
My morning hike was about birds, and really many things, and I promised the group that I would post some sounding recordings of specific breeding birds that I found during summer.
19 June 2022
These Winter Wrens had an interesting
pause near the end of their extended song
that did not quite reach zero (silence) on
their sonogram.
19 June 2022
The song of this Magnolia Warbler at High Knob Lake was essentially identical to a song recorded by Gregory Budney in New York state. I overlaid the songs together and it was nearly impossible to tell them apart.
A Hooder Warbler also sings throughout this recording, with Dark-eyed Junco, Blue-head Vireo, Black-throated Blue Warbler, and Pileated Woodpecker among other birds that can be heard.
06 June 2022
This song of Brown Creeper can also be heard below, in the much longer recording that contains many different bird species for which I made a guide. These are two creepers counter-calling. The closest bird sounds much louder than the more distant male.
06 June 2022
Note that songs on this guide time-list are some
1-3 seconds different from this online playback.
(Apparently due to the difference between my original
recording and the play-back speed of this online player).
The Magnolia Warbler song recorded in Big Cherry (denoted on list above) is a little different from the
song variation sung at High Knob Lake.
24 September 2022
Looking SW From The High Knob Lookout
Patty Barlow Photograph © All Rights Reserved
The sun illuminated mountain in the foreground is Grindstone Ridge, a topographic dome-shaped section
of the massif towering above the Head of Powell Valley
(it is not a geological dome).
My afternoon hike finally featured
a slow emergence of sunshine.
24 September 2022
Looking SW From The High Knob Lookout
Patty Barlow Photograph © All Rights Reserved
The view above is looking across Big Cherry Lake basin and the southwestern expanse of the massif along the axis of the High Knob Landform (Powell Valley Anticline).
Here is how I briefly described the day in
my Dickenson Star newspaper column:
"Despite morning rain and chilly conditions, the 16th Annual High Knob Naturalist Rally was a great success. Although partial sunshine did return for the afternoon, there was a most special beauty about walking in a shadowy mixed forest, softened and calmed by rain and misty conditions. Add in a high elevation mountain lake and groups of simply wonderful people, and it does not get any better!"
24 September 2022
Looking SE From The High Knob Lookout
Patty Barlow Photograph © All Rights Reserved
This view is looking southeast toward the crystalline
core of the present day Appalachians in Tennessee and western North Carolina.
Shane Fields sent this photograph that Patty took and was fascinated by how I could pat my head, rub my belly, and talk about complex systems science all at the same time.
24 September 2022
High Knob Lookout
Actually, my hat was loose and I was trying
to keep wind gusts from blowing it away!
While my afternoon theme would be about Forest Intelligence, there is no separating that from all the other components of the Climate (Earth) System. This includes geology.
Geologist Philip Prince is simply outstanding in his modeling work of the Appalachians and mountain belts around the world. I highly recommend his website linked above (as well as below).
Philip has helped me better understand and visualize the temporal and spatial development
of this mountain region.
24 September 2022
Windy Conditions_High Knob Meadow
Patty Barlow Photograph © All Rights Reserved
The afternoon featured air temperatures in the lower to middle 50s at High Knob Lookout, with W-SW wind gusts around 20-25 miles per hour.
24 September 2022
Windy Conditions at High Knob Lookout
Chilly and Gusty
24 September 2022
High Knob Lookout
Shane, of course, said that Mother Nature was not the only "windy" thing at the Lookout (and he is an expert on that subject). I did talk too long, but one does not have the opportunity to speak to such a wonderful group of individuals every day.
24 September 2022
Heading To The Forest
Beneath Rays of Sunlight
Sky conditions improved as I led everyone toward the beginning of the forest trail from the peak back down to High Knob Lake Recreation Area.
24 September 2022
Heading To The Forest
Patty Barlow Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Thanks to Patty for documenting this event, which was only a tiny portion of many wonderful things enjoyed during the High Knob Naturalist Rally.
Interesting Scenes
From The Highlands
(Summer-Early Autumn 2022)
These photographs are courtesy of my friends Wayne and Genevie Riner, from the lovely highlands of Dickenson County along the Tennessee Valley Divide.
Luna Moth (Actias luna)
They tell a story of wondrous Appalachian biodiversity, with an array of diverse species that are not even the tip of the iceberg of biological diversity amid this rich landscape.
Regal Moth (Citheronia regalis)
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda)
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
(Papilio glaucus)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
(Rubus phoenicolasius)
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
(Spizella Passerina)
Chipping Sparrow In Hand
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
These are only two of many wild birds
Wayne has held in his hands over the years.
(Setophaga caerulescens)
Black-throated Blue Warbler
How does he do it? I am so jealous!
Ironweed (Vernonia spp.)
and Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
(Helianthus tuberosus)
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Long Ridge Orchard
JonaGold Apple Tree
(Malus domestica 'Jonagold')
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Long Ridge Orchard
Red Apples Against Blue Sky
Long Ridge of Sandy Ridge
Majestic Double Rainbows
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Long Ridge of Sandy Ridge
Majestic Double Rainbows
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Brilliant Highlands Sunset
Long Ridge of Sandy Ridge
Looking Across Valleys of Fog
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Orange Glow of Western Sky
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Long Ridge of Sandy Ridge
Season Of Change In The Highlands
Wayne Riner Photograph © All Rights Reserved
Praying Mantis (Mantodea spp.) Capturing A
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)
America Mae Mullins Photograph © All Rights Reserved
A baby Eastern Hog-nosed Snake was also a great find by John, who let the little fellow go once Mae took his portrait.
(Heterodon platirhinos)
Baby Eastern Hog-nosed Snake
This section is under construction. Please check back.
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