Several national parks from the Southeast through New England were preparing Friday for another round of winter weather, while others were still cleaning up from the last frigid blast.
Closures already announced included Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina and Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park in South Carolina, as well as the main road through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
A Nor'easter was expected to bring snow, flooding and coastal flooding along much of the East Coast over the weekend into early next week. Temperatures will be frigid in many parts of the South as well. Canaveral National Seashore in Florida, for example, was under an extreme cold watch and wind chills in the single digits were forecast for Fort Pulaski National Monument near Savannah, Georgia.
Visitors should check specific park websites and social media accounts for the latest information.
Here's a look at some of the park closures and schedule changes as of Friday:
- Several roads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park were set to close at 4 p.m. Friday, including US 441/Newfound Gap Road between Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina. A couple of smaller park roads remained closed from last week's weather.
- All visitor facilities at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial, all in North Carolina, will be closed from Saturday until at least Monday morning. There were also concerns over continued threats to oceanfront structures due to erosion along portions of the beach in Rodanthe and Buxton.
- All National Park Service units in the Charleston, South Carolina, area planned to close at noon Saturday including Fort Sumter, the Fort Sumter Visitor Center at Liberty Square, Fort Moultrie, the Fort Moultrie Visitor Center, and Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. Ferry service to Fort Sumter is cancelled for Saturday and Sunday. Normal operations will resume Monday if conditions allow.
- Multiple park areas and facilities remained closed Friday along George Washington Memorial Parkway due to snow and ice from last week's winter storm. The extensive list includes Great Falls Park, Clara Barton National Historical Site, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Arlington House, Fort Hunt Park, Fort Marcy, Riverside Park, Fort Hunt. Most pullouts, overlooks and parking lots were also closed. The parkway is part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, DC.
- Much of the Blue Ridge Parkway also remained closed Friday due to the previous weather. A social media post from the park noted: "With additional winter weather forecast for this weekend, conditions may continue to change. Assessments are underway and sections will be reopened when clear of ice, snow and debris."
- The Tower of Voices and Memorial Plaza at Flight 93 National Memorial were closed due to ongoing winter weather.
- Some sites along Natchez Trace Parkway, including the visitor center in Tupelo, Mississippi, were expected to remain closed through the weekend.
- Arkansas Post National Memorial in Alabama remained closed due to hazardous road conditions entering the park.
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