FIRST SNOW ALERT: Winter Once Again Came Early in East Tennessee

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go." -- Meredith Willson

They might just BE breaking out the Christmas carols in October in eastern Tennessee, and they might just be doing that for the second year in a row. I guess, though, when the calendar turns to October in mountainous regions of the United States, you can't totally rule out waking up to a blanket of white on the ground.

However, the timing is mind-boggling. Almost exactly one year ago today, WATE-Knoxville posted the following story about a light snow in mid-October.

Here it is, October 17th, and LeConte Lodge is reporting  FOUR INCHES OF SNOW on the ground. I'm with the anchor above; let's have real fall before we have real winter. Someone message Mother Nature and see if it will do any good. Take a look at Kuwohi, the highest point in Tennessee.

That is absolutely breathtaking. I'm not a skier, but I've always been intrigued by visiting the Smoky Mountains in the winter.

My big concern would be getting stuck and unable to get back home in time, but what a way to be stuck.

Folks in the are who DO love skiing were probably tickled to death, but that doesn't necessarily mean they had an opportunity to quench their desires. Ober Gatlinburg's season usually begins in mid-December, but they try to accommodate early snows; on multiple occasions, they've opened on Thanksgiving weekend, a very popular time for tourists.

I'm not sure if they do Halloween dates, though. I'd call ahead.