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Dave's Sweater

High Country road conditions

Will the roads be bad tomorrow morning? We forecast the surface from the snow, ice, and temperature we already track — then check ourselves against what NCDOT actually reports. Live closures and Blue Ridge Parkway alerts, too, for Watauga, Avery, and Ashe.

Tomorrow's road-condition forecast

Tue, Jul 28

Wet

Around 0.2 in of rain; wet roads, no freezing expected.

  • Wed, Jul 29Clear
  • Thu, Jul 30Clear
  • Fri, Jul 31Clear

Our surface call from the snow, ice, and temperature we already forecast — then we grade ourselves against what NCDOT reports.

Current conditionsas of Jul 27, 2026, 12:55 PM

Road closures

  • Bairds Creek Rd (Watauga) — Construction on Bairds Creek Rd Northbound in Watauga County from Laurel Fork Rd to Frontier Village Cabin Rd. All lanes closed.
  • Hopewell Church Rd (Watauga) — Maintenance on Hopewell Church Rd Both Directions in Watauga County from Meat Camp Rd to Old Buffalo Trl. All lanes closed. Id: 949
  • Castle Ford Rd (Watauga) — Construction on Castle Ford Rd Both Directions in Watauga County from Tula Ln to River Rd. All lanes closed. Id: 2449
  • Blue Ridge Pkwy (Avery) — Other Weather Incident on Blue Ridge Pkwy Both Directions in Avery, McDowell, Mitchell County from NC 226 to US-221. All lanes closed. Id: 2174

Roadwork & incidents (9)

  • Roaring Branch Rd (Ashe) — Construction on Roaring Branch Rd Both Directions in Ashe County from Virgil Greer Rd to Jack Jones Rd. All Lanes Affected.
  • Payne Branch Rd (Watauga) — Construction on Payne Branch Rd Both Directions in Watauga county from Flat Top Rd to Winklers Creek Rd. All Shoulders Closed. Id: 809
  • Rich Hill Rd (Ashe) — Construction on Rich Hill Rd Both Directions in Ashe County from Elliott Hollow Rd to Arnold Jones Rd. All Lanes Affected.
  • Lewis Rd (Ashe) — Construction on Lewis Rd in Ashe County from Buffalo Rd to Buffalo Rd. Lane Affected.
  • Pine Swamp Rd (Ashe) — Construction on Pine Swamp Rd Both Directions in Ashe County from Birds Eye View Ln to Conley Cheek Rd. Lane Alternating.
  • Denny Rd (Ashe) — Maintenance on Denny Rd Both Directions in Ashe County Near Flatwoods School Rd. Lane Affected. Id: 2224
  • Cabbage Creek Rd (Ashe) — Maintenance on Cabbage Creek Rd Both Directions in Ashe County Near Roundabout Rd. Lane Affected. Id: 4045
  • Gucker Rd (Ashe) — Maintenance on Gucker Rd Both Directions in Ashe County Near W Reno Rd. Lane Affected. Id: 4047

…and 1 more. Full list at DriveNC.gov.

Source: NCDOT DriveNC.gov (Division 11) and the National Park Service. Scoped to Watauga, Avery, and Ashe counties.

How our road forecast is scoring

Average accuracy so far: 100/100 over 2 scored days. Still gathering data — a thin early sample, not a record yet.