Graupel at Turkey Spur Overlook

Note: This post is one of a series about our visit to New River Gorge and Bridge in late October 2018. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of color in the trees then. For details of the New River National River and links to other posts, please see New River Gorge and Bridge (Overview).

Turkey Spur Overlook is a series of platforms and walkways on Turkey Spur Rock, which stands above the wooded slopes of Turkey Spur, a narrow ridge more than 1,000 feet above the New River in the Grandview area of the park, about 1.2 miles from the Main Overlook. From the observation decks, there are spectacular views of the gorge and surrounding highlands in all directions. There are more than 150 steps to reach the top of the overlook.

When we visited Turkey Spur Overlook on Thursday morning, there was an unusual type of icy precipitation which we later identified as graupel, also called soft hail or snow pellets. It is precipitation that forms when supercooled water droplets are collected and freeze on falling snowflakes. They melted when hitting the ground but some remained on trees as an icy coating.

In the Additional Images section I have also included a view of New River Gorge looking toward the Main Overlook and a view of the trail at the base of Turkey Spur Rock.