A long term persistent drought across north and central Georgia, along with an extended period of dry, cold weather from late October through mid-November resulted in an increased fire danger across the state. S.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS FFC wrote it up.
A long term persistent drought across north and central Georgia, along with an extended period of dry, cold weather from late October through mid-November resulted in an increased fire danger across the state. Several wildfires were reported during mid-month by the U.S. Forest Service in the Chattahoochee National Forecast in far northeast Georgia. Wildfires were observed in Fannin, Lumpkin, and Rabun counties. Wildfires broke out in the Three Forks and Dry Branch area of the forest in Fannin county and the Woody Creek area of Lumpkin county. The Three Forks and Woody Creek fires spanned a period of three and four days, respectively. Damages from the three fires was estimated at $130,000.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 7, 5:30 AM EST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED TO ADD AVIATION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 530 AM EST FRI NOV 7 2008 .SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... A BAND OF SHOWERS OVER NWRN AL AND MIDDLE TN IS SLOWLY ADVANCING EASTWARD THIS MORNING ALONG A COLD FRONT. HIGH PRESSURE CURRENTLY OVER GA WILL EXIT THE STATE TODAY...ALLOWING THOSE SHOWERS TO REACH NWRN GA LATE THIS MORNING. MODELS INDICATE A NARROW AXIS OF MINIMAL (LESS THAN 200 J/KG) INSTABILITY COINCIDENT WITH THIS AREA OF PRECIPITATION FADING AS IT ENTERS THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON. EXPECT SHOWERS AND PERHAPS ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AS SURFACE BOUNDARY APPROACHES DURING PEAK DIURNAL HEATING. THE SHOWERS SHOULD DECREASE AS THEY TRACK EAST/SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE LOCAL AREA THIS EVENING. ONSET OF LOW LEVEL COLD ADVECTION WILL OCCUR AS A MARKEDLY COOLER POST-FRONTAL AIRMASS BEGINS TO MOVE IN TONIGHT. H8 TEMPERATURES FALL ABOUT 8-13 DEG C FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...WITH EARLY A.M. FROST/LOCAL FREEZE POTENTIAL RETURNING BY THEN. .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... COOLEST LOWS EXPECTED SUNDAY NIGHT/MONDAY MORNING WITH COOL AIRMASS IN PLACE AND HIGH PRESSURE TO OUR WEST SLIDING OVERHEAD... ALLOWING FOR THE MOST OPTIMAL RADIATIONAL COOLING. THE LONGWAVE PATTERN REMAINS QUITE A PROGRESSIVE ONE WITH A STRONG 100-KT NORTHERN STREAM SYNCING UP WITH THE WEAKER SOUTHERN STREAM JET EARLY NEXT WEEK AS A TROUGH DIGS INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES RIPPLE THROUGH THE WEST AND EVENTUALLY SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY...KEEPING AT LEAST SOME POTENTIAL FOR SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST THROUGH THE PERIOD. AFTER WEDNESDAY...THE COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF RAIN AND LIKELIHOOD OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE MORE UNCERTAIN. THE 12Z ECMWF AND 18Z GFS INDICATE A FAIRLY POTENT LOW MOVING THROUGH THE TENNESSEE VALLEY OR SERN STATES IN THE THURSDAY/FRIDAY TIME FRAME WHILE THE 00Z RUNS OF BOTH MODELS HAVE BACKED OFF FROM THESE MORE AGGRESSIVE SOLUTIONS. NUDGED FORWARD THUNDER MENTION TO AFTER DAYTIME ON THURSDAY...CONSIDERING A BLEND OF THE VARIOUS MODELS/ENSEMBLES. RRH && .AVIATION... MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS TO START FORECAST PERIOD...ALTHOUGH USUAL SITES HINTING AT MVFR VISIBILITIES AS PATCHY FOG DEVELOPS ONCE AGAIN THIS MORNING. MODELS SHOWING CEILINGS FLIRTING WITH MVFR HEIGHTS AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT...AROUND 17Z AT CSG...BY 20Z AT ATL AREA/MCN AND 22Z AT AHN. 3-4KFT CEILINGS WILL LIFT TO 9KFT BEHIND THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...BY 05Z AT ALL SITES. EXPECT ONLY A NARROW LINE OF ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS TO MOVE ACROSS THE TAF SITES BETWEEN 22Z-04Z. WEST WINDS NEAR 10 KTS THIS MORNING WILL BACK TO SOUTHWEST AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT BY 16Z...THEN SHIFT TO NORTHWEST AGAIN BEHIND THE FRONT AFTER 03Z AND REMAIN NEAR 7 KTS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ATHENS 74 48 68 40 63 / 30 50 5 5 5 ATLANTA 72 47 65 41 61 / 50 50 5 5 5 BLAIRSVILLE 66 41 59 34 55 / 60 60 5 5 5 CARTERSVILLE 69 42 63 36 60 / 70 50 5 5 5 COLUMBUS 73 51 72 45 66 / 30 50 5 5 5 GAINESVILLE 68 47 64 40 58 / 50 50 5 5 5 MACON 77 49 71 42 66 / 10 50 5 5 5 ROME 67 45 66 37 60 / 70 40 5 5 5 PEACHTREE CITY 71 44 68 35 62 / 40 50 5 5 5 VIDALIA 79 52 71 40 67 / 0 30 5 5 5 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 601 AM EST FRI NOV 7 2008 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-081100- BALDWIN-BANKS-BARROW-BARTOW-BIBB-BLECKLEY-BUTTS-CARROLL-CATOOSA- CHATTAHOOCHEE-CHATTOOGA-CHEROKEE-CLARKE-CLAYTON-COBB-COWETA- CRAWFORD-CRISP-DADE-DAWSON-DEKALB-DODGE-DOOLY-DOUGLAS-EMANUEL- FANNIN-FAYETTE-FLOYD-FORSYTH-GILMER-GLASCOCK-GORDON-GREENE- GWINNETT-HALL-HANCOCK-HARALSON-HARRIS-HEARD-HENRY-HOUSTON-JACKSON- JASPER-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON-JONES-LAMAR-LAURENS-LUMPKIN-MACON- MADISON-MARION-MERIWETHER-MONROE-MONTGOMERY-MORGAN-MURRAY- MUSCOGEE-NEWTON-NORTH FULTON-OCONEE-OGLETHORPE-PAULDING-PEACH- PICKENS-PIKE-POLK-PULASKI-PUTNAM-ROCKDALE-SCHLEY-SOUTH FULTON- SPALDING-STEWART-SUMTER-TALBOT-TALIAFERRO-TAYLOR-TELFAIR-TOOMBS- TOWNS-TREUTLEN-TROUP-TWIGGS-UNION-UPSON-WALKER-WALTON-WARREN- WASHINGTON-WEBSTER-WHEELER-WHITE-WHITFIELD-WILCOX-WILKES- WILKINSON- 601 AM EST FRI NOV 7 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS NORTH AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA. .SYNOPSIS... A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO NORTH GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE TO WEAKEN THROUGH THIS EVENING AS IT PUSHES EASTWARD. .PRIMARY HAZARDS... OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARD WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT DEVELOPS THIS AFTERNOON. .DISCUSSION... INSTABILITY WILL BE MINIMAL WITH CAPE VALUES OF LESS THAN 200 AS THE COLD FRONT APPROACHES NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON. A LINE OF ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS...AIDED BY DAYTIME HEATING. THE BEST CHANCE OF THUNDER WILL BE NORTH AND WEST OF A COLUMBUS TO ATHENS LINE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The U.S. Forest Service reported that a wildfire occurred in the Three Forks area of the Chattahoochee National Forecast. The wildfire took four days to contain.
The U.S. Forest Service reported that there was a wildfire in the Woody Creek area of the Chattahoochee National Forecast. The wildfire took three days to contain.
The U.S. Forest Service reported that there was yet another wildfire in Fannin county in the Dry Branch area of the Chattahoochee National Forest. The fire was contained within about five hours of breaking out.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, November 2008
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 142220, 142222, 142223.