By JOSH AULT
6 News Reporter
GATLINBURG (WATE) – Even though most of the snow in the valley did not last long, that was not the case up in the Smokies.
National Park officials had to close several roads due to snow and ice.
The main areas that are still closed to the public are Newfound Gap Road, which connects Gatlinburg to Cherokee, North Carolina, and the road to Clingman’s Dome.
Many visitors were disappointed they were not going to be able to see all of the park.
“We were planning on going to Asheville to the Biltmore, and we wanted to take the scenic route up through Cherokee,” said park visitor Danielle Girod, “Now the roads closed, so we can not go anywhere.”
Even though those areas are closed, park officials allowed our camera past the barricades to see how dangerous the conditions had become.
At first the roads did not look that bad, but in just a few miles the roads became snow covered and icy.
By the time we reached the Newfound Gap parking area, at the Tennessee/North Carolina line, snow was coming down hard and the wind was very gusty.
“With this event in
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