National parks in many parts of the East where preparing for a potent winter storm that could shut down operations this weekend.
Early Friday the National Park Service was preparing for a range of potential impacts across the Blue Ridge Parkway that stretches from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. Based on current forecasts, Blue Ridge Parkway visitors can expect closures parkwide beginning Friday evening. Park visitors and neighbors should expect closed gates, as well as barricades in ungated sections.
Closures elsewhere in the National Park System included:
- At Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania staff said the Gettysburg NMP Museum & Visitor Center would be closed on Sunday, and that any other closures would be posted on the park's website.
- In Virginia, the entire length of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park closed Friday in advance of the storm.
- The Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, warned that "heavy snow and ice may create dangerous conditions along the A.T., especially if ice causes trees and branches to snap. A.T. access roads may be impassable."
- In Kentucky, staff at Mammoth Cave National Park said that due to expected significant snow and ice from Winter Storm Fern, all cave tours and the visitor center will be closed on Saturday, Jan. 24, and Sunday, Jan. 25. Mammoth Cave Parkway will not be actively plowed this weekend. If you must drive through the park, please use extreme caution.
- Shiloh National Military Park in Tennessee and Mississippi will be closed on Saturday, Jan. 24 and Sunday, Jan. 25, in response to the winter storm forecasted for the area over the next few days. The potential ice, snow, and sleet accumulations greater than three inches will create hazardous driving conditions for the staff and public.
- Russell Cave National Monument in Alabama was to be closed Saturday-Monday.
- Stones River National Battlefield in Tennessee was to be closed Saturday.
- At Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Tennessee the Oak Ridge Visitor Center was to be closed Saturday and Sunday, and all ranger programs were canceled for the weekend.
- Many roads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park were closed, some on Friday morning and some scheduled for Friday night.
The incoming winter storm was predicted to impact more than half of the United States with potentially historic levels of snow and ice in some areas.
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