Weather and foliage in southern West Virginia mountain towns

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluefield,_West_Virginia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beckley,_West_Virginia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Top,_West_Virginia

From my Toledo Talk microblog posts in May 2013 (will be imported here, eventually). The first two culled info from the Wikipedia pages.

"Beckley Elevation: 2,421 ft. Summers are warm and humid, although significantly cooler than low-elevation places within the state, with only one day of 90 °F. Snowfall averages 61.4 inches per season."

"Due to its elevation, climate of Beckley is either classified as mountain temperate or humid continental, and the city straddles the border between USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 6B and 7A."

My observations:

Flat Top, WV - 3084 ft. The area on I-77 through the mountains where the foliage was the furthest behind compared to any part of our trip in mid-May from Toledo to NC. #weather

The foliage through the Flat Top area in mid-May looked like the Toledo area in mid-April. It was 3 to 5 weeks behind northwest Ohio. The trees and shrubs were sparsely populated with small but colorful leaves.

#nature