GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK (WVLT) -- Park officials in the Great Smoky Mountains report wind gusts overnight reached 101 miles per hour on Cove Mountain, more than 4,100 feet in elevation, as well as downed trees and road closures Wednesday.

Park rangers have had to close parts of Little River Road between the Townsend Wye and the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area, Laurel Creek Road, Cades Cove Loop Road, and Cherokee Orchard Road past the Twin Creeks Natural Resource Center.

"There are several trees down in each location. Removal of some of these
trees will require large equipment to remove them," Park spokesperson Nancy Gray said in a news release. "Along Laurel Creek Road there are large trees lying precariously along sheer cliffs with large root balls up in the air. Park staff is busy responding to all the locations impacted on the Tennessee side of the Park. The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory through 7 p.m. today which will most likely cause more trees to topple in other areas as well."

Wind speeds recorded at the Cove Mountain Air Quality Station averaged 70 miles per hour each hour, Gray says.

For current road condition and closures, visitors should call 865-436-1200.