Southern states see first snow of the season
It’s been more than 750 days since the city of Atlanta officially recorded measurable snow. That streak is appearing to hold, despite more than an inch falling in northern suburbs and a good bit more in the Georgia mountains above them.
Snow fell Saturday morning in downtown and in parts of the Georgia capital’s northern and eastern suburbs. At least an inch was reported on roads in Roswell.
Farther north, Gainesville received 4 inches and Dahlonega notched about 6.
But the last time the city got snow was back on January 18, 2018, making its absence the eighth-longest streak in National Weather Service climate records.
if Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport would have picked up at least 0.1 inches of snow, the record would have been broken Saturday. But that did not happen, because not enough of the precipitation stuck and accumulated.
To the north, snow fell a day after snow blanketed most of Middle Tennessee, CNN affiliate WTVF reported.
“My twitter feed is blowing up with heavy snow pics and video from … wait for it … Atlanta,” tweeted meteorologist Zach Daniel of WTVR, an affiliate in Virginia, with a photo of a snowy scene from north of Atlanta at the Dunwoody Country Club.
“Big difference across the metro area from north to south,” he said of the situation in Georgia.
“Snow in Buckhead … in February … The little kid in me is jumping up and down,” tweeted Becky Gottschling with a video.
In 2014, the metro area was shut down for days after a couple of inches of snow fell.
But there is potential hazard in metro Atlanta. Any residual moisture from melting snow could refreeze overnight and a black ice threat is in effect.
Meantime, weather advisories Saturday stretched along the Appalachians through the Carolinas, into places more accustomed to wintry precipitation.
High rain and snow accumulation totals are not expected from the moisture-starved system that by Sunday will push offshore.
Most snow in the Atlanta area was expected north of Interstate 20, which bisects the Southern hub.
Out of caution, the Georgia Department of Transportation began treating roadways Friday night.
