during a typical year, 60.0 inches to 70.0 inches (152.4 cm to 178.0 cm) of total precipitation falls across the area, to make it one of the wettest areas north of the great smokies, and the wettest in virginia for which there are available records. significant additional moisture contributions occur from fog drip off trees and rime deposition on trees, with many days during the year being spent amid orographic feeder butts that cap its upper elevations.