Officials of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park think above-normal precipitation and subsequent road closings drove down visits in January.
A section of a major road slid down a mountain.
The number of tourists was off 3.5% from the 5-year average for January. Fewer than 266,000 people came into the park during the month – the second-lowest visitation in five years.
The park generally gets 5 to 7 inches of rain in January but received 14 to 17 inches last month.
A 200-foot section of U.S. 441 between Gatlinburg and Cherokee, N.C., collapsed the morning of Jan. 16. Officials said it will take into the summer to repair the road.
