Weather committee nixes 2016 Mount Mitchell record snowfall

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — It’s the record that wasn’t: A state weather committee, meeting for the first time since it was formed more than 10 years ago, has determined that 41 inches of snow didn’t fall on Mount Mitchell almost a year ago.

Instead, experts reviewed the evidence and revised the total to 21 inches for the 24-hour period ending at 7 a.m. on Jan. 23, 2016, leaving the 1993 record of 36 inches – also set on Mount Mitchell – intact.

The State Climate Extremes Committee reviewed liquid precipitation reports from nearby weather stations and other evidence in deciding to remove the 41-inch snowfall from the record books.

Former state climatologist Ryan Boyles says the 41-inch measurement “was so far off from everything else that it didn’t look reasonable.”

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