Winter Storm Watch for Georgia

Southeast Could See Up to 2 Inches of Snow

weather.com Jan 5 2017 06:22 AM EST

Winter Storm Helena is on it's way to the Southeast that could bring up to 2 inches of snow.

Winter Storm Watch
Georgia Counties:

Banks
Barrow
Bartow
Butts
Carroll
Catoosa
Chattooga
Cherokee
Clarke
Clayton
Cobb
Coweta
Dade
Dawson
De Kalb
Douglas
Elbert
Fannin
Fayette
Floyd
Forsyth
Franklin
Gilmer
Gordon
Gwinnett
Habersham
Hall
Haralson
Harris
Hart
Heard
Henry
Jackson
Jasper
Lamar
Lumpkin
Madison
Meriwether
Monroe
Morgan
Murray
Newton
North Fulton
Oconee
Oglethorpe
Paulding
Pickens
Pike
Polk
Rabun
Rockdale
South Fulton
Spalding
Stephens
Talbot
Towns
Troup
Union
Upson
Walker
Walton
White
Whitfield

Confidence is increasing that winter weather will impact much of north and central Georgia Friday into Saturday

• Mainly a snow event
– rain transitioning to snow area-wide Friday night

• Amounts: Generally 1-3 inches with locally higher amounts (LOW to MEDIUM confidence)

• Models continue to show potential for wintry precipitation (mainly snow) across north and central Georgia Friday and Saturday

• Rain/snow line (at this time): Along and north of Columbus to Macon to Eatonton
- Along and North of this area will see snow
- South of that line will see rain

• Timing Confidence: MEDIUM to HIGH

- Timing = Late Thursday Night-Early Friday Morning
Light (rain/snow mix) precipitation possible mainly northwest of ATL

- Timing of heaviest snow?
Late Friday (PM) through Saturday morning (after midnight Friday night to ~8am Saturday)
Two different models that have good track records are showing an onset as early at 1800 hrs on Friday

• A snow band will hang over ATL by midnight

• Enhanced area of snow over ATL and up the I-85 coor towards Athens

• Freezing rain (ice) potential is LOW at this time, however a narrow zone is possible between the rain/snow areas
- May see something where the rain changes from rain to snow (most likely along the snow line Columbus to Macon to Eatonton)

• Post-precipitation:
- Re-freezing of any snow/water could prolong travel problems (area-wide) through Sunday and maybe Monday
Anything that may melt on Saturday could refreeze and create road hazards Saturday Night into Sunday AM


Rich Gulf Moisture from a Low over the Gulf will meet the cold air mass from the North. Warm moist air will go over cold dense air and the setup does lead to snow precip.

Winter Storm Watch: 1-2 inches of snow possible this weekend

Updated: Jan 5, 2017 - 7:08 AM


ATLANTA - A Winter Storm Watch will go into effect Friday night when 1-2 inches of snow is forecast to fall in parts of north Georgia and metro Atlanta.

A cold front has already started moving in from the northwest, bringing in much colder air to most of the state.

Watch Channel 2 Action News throughout the day for the latest forecast models showing when and where the winter weather will be.


The focus will be later in the day Friday, with snow building in the north Georgia mountains as early as mid to late afternoon.

“As we head into the evening hours, the snow chances will be increasing,” said Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Karen Minton.

Around 9 p.m. Friday, snow in the northeast Georgia mountains builds down to the south and west and may start as a mix of freezing rain and sleet south of Interstate 20.

“From the I-20 corridor northward, it’s going to be primarily if not completely snow,” Minton said.

Through the early hours of Saturday, more widespread snow will develop and start to accumulate. Temperatures will fall into and through the 20s from Friday night into Saturday.

Snow will continue to fall through 8 a.m. and by midday on Saturday, the snow is expected to come to an end.

"In the metro area, one to two inches of snow, with some isolated pockets of three inches, maybe up to four inches in some mountain areas," Minton said.

On Thursday, Georgia Department of Transportation crews began prepping roads for the winter weather.


"The amount of snow will be varied, and it's still not exact in our forecast, we're waiting for additional data later today so we'll be fine-tuning this," Minton said.

After the winter weather moves out, we’ll see the return of sunshine heading into Sunday.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is readying brine trucks Wednesday.


Behind this system, it will turn bitterly cold Saturday afternoon and through early next week with temperatures in the lows teens/low 20s and highs only in the 30s.

[link to www.wsbtv.com]

January 5, 2017 8:47 AM

The threat of winter weather, including accumulating snow, is prompting the closings and schedule changes for schools, businesses and other organizations:


Middle Georgia winter storm closings, schedule changes

[link to www.macon.com]

If you're in Atlanta, you can expect:

Friday PM: Rain and Snow Showers

Saturday AM: All Snow Showers

[link to www.cbs46.com]

Winter Storm Watches From Alabama to North Carolina as Winter Storm Helena Poised to Spread Snow, Ice Into the South

Winter storm watches have been posted from Alabama to North Carolina, including Birmingham, Atlanta, Greenville/Spartanburg, Charlotte, and Raleigh-Durham.

Winter weather advisories have also been posted for parts of Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, as well as a swath of the Ohio Valley and Appalachians.

South Forecast
Timeline

Thursday: Light snow will fall in parts of Kentucky and Tennessee east into the Appalachians from a separate disturbance embedded within Winter Storm Helena.

Thursday night: Light snow spreads into parts of the southern Plains, including Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle, and Arkansas. Light snow continues in the Appalachians.

Friday: Light snow continues in the southern High Plains. A strip of light snow is possible from Texas and Oklahoma to the Tennesee Valley (northern Alabama). Some patchy, light freezing rain or sleet is possible from parts of Mississippi to central Alabama.

Friday night: Snow spreads into north Georgia, upstate South Carolina, North Carolina and southern Virginia. Bands of heavier snow are possible in these areas. Some freezing rain or sleet is possible just to the south of that snow swath from Mississippi to North Carolina.

Saturday: Snow, possibly heavy, from southeast Virginia into northern South Carolina, tapering off in eastern North Carolina and southeast Virginia Saturday night.

welp!

Luke Bryan is awesome.

He's from Leesburg, Georgia (South West GA) near Albany.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PEACHTREE CITY HAS ISSUED A
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR NORTH AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA, WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM FRIDAY TO 1 PM EST SATURDAY.

THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

LOCATIONS,MUCH OF NORTH AND PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA, GENERALLY NORTH OF A LINE FROM HAMILTON TO FORSYTH TO LEXINGTON. THIS INCLUDES ALL OF THE ATLANTA METRO AREA.

HAZARD TYPES, SNOW.

ACCUMULATIONS, 2 TO 4 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS.

TIMING, BEGINNING EARLY FRIDAY EVENING AS A RAIN, SNOW, OR SLEET MIX, BECOMING ALL SNOW OVERNIGHT FRIDAY NIGHT. THE SNOW WILL END FROM WEST TO EAST THROUGH THE MORNING SATURDAY.

IMPACTS, ROADS WILL BECOME SLICK MAKING TRAVEL HAZARDOUS.
SNOWFALL MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES. TRAVEL COULD QUICKLY BECOME DANGEROUS. EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION IF TRAVEL IS NECESSARY.

WINDS, NORTHWEST WINDS AT 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 25 MPH.

TEMPERATURES, TEMPERATURES FRIDAY EVENING WILL BE IN THE LOW TO MID 30S, FALLING INTO THE MID TO UPPER 20S BY SATURDAY MORNING.

HIGHS WILL BE IN THE 30S SATURDAY AFTERNOON, AND SOME AREAS MAY STRUGGLE TO RISE ABOVE FREEZING.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS,

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL,KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT, FOOD, AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE, WHICH WILL ALSO MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

&&

Arkansas, also. Winter advisory. Then it will be 65 Monday. Go figure.

thx!

And this happens too:


[link to quakes.globalincidentmap.com]

WWW.GLOBALINCIDENTMAP.COM

Type: EarthQuake
28 minutes ago
Magnitude: 2.51
DateTime: 2017-01-13 12:48:09
Region: 11km ESE of LaFayette, Georgia
Depth: 7.76

Last Edited by Truth02 on 01/13/2017 02:19 PM

OK, this just happened apparently but that winter storm watch is from January 5.

We don't even have any cold weather in the next week let alone snow.

High in the 60-70 range for next week to ten days.


I do hope we get at least one snow this winter. So far, nothing.


.

You are right about the timing ... but now this happened right next door:

[link to quakes.globalincidentmap.com]


WWW.GLOBALINCIDENTMAP.COM

Type: EarthQuake
110 minutes ago
Magnitude: 2.33
DateTime: 2017-01-13 16:24:09
Region: 5km W of Florence, Alabama
Depth: 6.58
Source: USGS Feed

That is very interesting. I am right in between them and didn't feel anything. Dog didn't behave strangely, just very lazy.

Odd two close together like that. Must watch out for any more activity.


.

That's interesting of your location. Do report if something more happens,

T2