Why they call them the “Smoky” Mountains:
Pretty obvious. This is our view, everyday. But it changes, based on the season and weather. It’s raining off and on today.
It does look like there’s smoke coming off the mountains. That’s actually water vapor from low-lying clouds evaporating. When you watch closely, you can see the “smoke” gently rising. But it can be confusing, because we’re up at the level of the clouds, about 2/3 of a mile up in the sky here.
Clouds from over the Gulf of Mexico gather water up into them, then SW winds have those clouds sail over the flatlands of Alabama, Georgia and north Florida, up into North Carolina, where the Blue Ridge Mountains (part of the Smoky range) provide a tall wall for the clouds to smash into, often releasing the water in the form of rain. However, after the rain falls, it often starts evaporating and slowly filtering back up into the sky, joining the dust particles of clouds there. Sometimes the clouds open up again, creating a cycle of rain and evaporation, until the breezes push the clouds up into Tennessee and Virginia.
All this rain going up, down and sideways is mainly the reason this area is called an Alpine Rain Forest (one of only two in the USA: the other being in Washington State). This area received typically 100 to 200 inches of rain a year. All this rain means that the architecture for homes and buildings needs expert planning in terms of design and detailing and construction.
Seek out the HOME ARCHITECTS ® for this. The firm has won 10 custom home architecture design awards during the last 4 years. It is an expert in the design of residential architecture and is called on to speak at global and national conferences regarding design, detailing, specifying and constructing residences of enduring quality.