BEECH MOUNTAIN, Watauga County — Have you ever noticed that the North Carolina mountains can keep getting snow long after a cold front moves through? It’s one of the coolest winter quirks in the High Country and this Weather IQ breaks down the Northwest Flow that creates the snow.

Upslope snow is simply orographic lifting in action. When winds slam into the mountains, the terrain forces that air to rise. As it lifts, it cools, condenses, and if there’s enough moisture creates clouds and falling snow.

That’s why the National Weather Service describes Northwest Flow Snow as snowfall that forms during periods of low-level northwest upslope flow across the southern Appalachians.

And here’s the kicker: Behind many cold fronts, the winds naturally turn northwest. So even after the front clear

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