Winter Weather, Rabun
- When
- December 12, 6:00 PM EST to December 13, 3:00 AM EST
- Where
- Rabun forecast zone
- Reported by
- County Official
- Coordinates
- 34.882, -83.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Weather in Georgia, December 12 to 13, 2009
Light freezing rain developed during the evening across the mountains of extreme northeast Georgia. Ice accretion was mainly limited to elevated surfaces.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.
Light freezing rain developed during the evening across the mountains of extreme northeast Georgia. Ice accretion was mainly limited to elevated surfaces.
What forecasters said that day
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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 12, 2:46 PM EST, 3 hours 14 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 12, 2:46 PM EST, 3 hours 14 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC
246 PM EST SAT DEC 12 2009
.SYNOPSIS...
AN AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE MID ATLANTIC WILL PUSH OFF THE
EAST COAST THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING AS MOISTURE SPREADS ACROSS THE
FORECAST AREA. A WEAK AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD BACK OVER THE
REGION ON MONDAY...BEFORE A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE WEST ON
TUESDAY. ANOTHER COLD AND DRY AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN TO
THE REGION WEDNESDAY AND REMAIN THROUGH THE END OF NEXT WEEK.
&&
.NEAR TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY/...
ISENTROPIC UPGLIDE OVER AN EAST COAST SURFACE RIDGE WILL SPREAD
MOISTURE NORTH ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING...RESULTING IN
CATEGORICAL POPS. MODEL SOUNDINGS FROM BOTH THE GFS AND NAM ARE
SUPPORTIVE OF AT LEAST A CHANE OF SLEET LATE THIS AFTERNOON ND
EVENING...AND PERHAPS SOME SNOW ON TOP OF THE VERY HIGHEST PEAKS OF
NC. A PRONOUNCED 850 MB WARM NOSE WILL MOVE NORTH ACROSS THE
AREA...LIMITING THE DURATION OF WINTER PRECIPITATION IN THE
MOUNTAINS. SURFACE TEMPERATURES IN THE VALLEYS OF THE NORTHERN AND
CENTRAL MOUNTAINS WILL SUPPORT FREEZING RAIN FROM SHORTLY AFTER
PRECIPITATION ONSET UNTIL SEVERAL HOURS AFTER MIDNIGHT. AT THIS
POINT IT APPEARS THAT THE WINDOW FOR ICE ACCUMULATION WILL BE RATHER
LIMITED...HOWEVER THE WARNING AND ADVISORY WILL REMAIN IN PLACE.
TEMPERATURES WILL COOL INITIALLY WITH EVAPORATIVE COOLING ONCE
PRECIPITATION STARTS...THEN WARM THROUGH THE NIGHT AS THE WARM NOSE
MOVE ACROSS THE AREA.
&&
.SHORT TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/...
AS OF 245 PM SATURDAY...FLAT RIDGE MOVES OVER THE AREA THRU MONDAY
BEFORE A DEVELOPING UPPER TROF MOVES ACROSS THE AREA TUESDAY AND
TUESDAY NIGHT. AT THE SFC...WEAK HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS INTO THE AREA
SUN NITE. THERE COULD BE A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS EARLY IN THE
EVENING WITH LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE. OTHERWISE...CLEARING
SKIES WITH AREAS OF FOG DEVELOPING AFTER MIDNIGHT. THERE COULD BE
WIDESPREAD DENSE FOG BY MORNING...BUT WILL WORD AS FOG FOR NOW. LOWS
WILL BE ABOVE NORMAL MTNS AND NEAR TO A LITTLE BELOW NORMAL
ELSEWHERE. MOISTURE BEGINS TO RETURN ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY AS THE
HIGH PRESSURE MOVES OFF THE COAST AND WEAK SLY FLOW DEVELOPS. AREA
SHOULD REMAIN DRY THRU THE DAY WITH INCREASING CLOUDS AND HIGHS
WARMING 5 TO 10 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. PRECIPITATION WILL SLOWLY
SPREAD ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY NIGHT AS A DEVELOPING COLD FRONT MOVES
TOWARD THE AREA AND FORCING INCREASES. LOWS AROUND 10 DEGREES ABOVE
NORMAL. BEST CHC OF RAIN WILL BE TUESDAY AS THE FRONT MOVES ACROSS
THE AREA AND UPPER DIVERGENCE INCREASES AS THE RIGHT REAR QUADRANT OF
THE UPPER JET MOVES ACROSS. THERE COULD EVEN BE A THUNDERSTORM OR
TWO ACROSS THE MTNS AND ALONG AND SOUTH OF I-85 AS WEAK INSTABILITY
DEVELOPS. HIGHS ONCE AGAIN AROUND 10 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. PRECIP
SHOULD QUICKLY COME TO AN END TUE NIGHT AS DRY HIGH PRESSURE MOVES
IN BEHIND THE FRONT. CANNOT RULE OUT A NW FLOW RAIN OR SNOW SHOWER
BEFORE MIDNIGHT. HOWEVER...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE QUICKLY DIMINISHES.
LOWS STILL AROUND 5 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL.
&&
.LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/...
AS OF 145 PM SATURDAY...THE MEDIUM RANGE LOOKS FAIRLY QUIET.
ALOFT...H5 HEIGHTS FEATURE FAST NORTHWESTERLY FLOW THROUGH FRIDAY
NIGHT WHEN IT BECOMES MORE ZONAL AS THE PATTERN AMPLIFIES IN
RESPONSE TO AN APPROACHING SHORTWAVE. THIS DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED
TO PASS NORTH OF THE REGION THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY ON SATURDAY. AT
THE SURFACE...CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN WEDNESDAY THROUGH
THURSDAY NIGHT BEFORE WEAKENING AND MOVING OFF THE EAST COAST ON
FRIDAY. A CLIPPER TYPE LOW ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER SHORTWAVE WILL
MOVE ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES ON FRIDAY PUSHING A COLD FRONT TOWARD
THE MOUNTAINS FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN THE MODELS REGARDING THE TIMING OF THIS FEATURE...THOUGH
BOTH SHOW THE FRONT AS RELATIVELY DRY AND NOT PRODUCING MEASURABLE
PRECIP ACROSS THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS. THEREFORE...WILL CONTINUE
TO CARRY A DRY FORECAST WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. TEMPS SHOULD BE
FAIRLY CLOSE TO CLIMO THROUGHOUT THE PERIOD.
&&
.AVIATION /20Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...
AT KCLT...WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME LIGHT FROM THE NORTHEAST THIS
AFTERNOON AS SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTS TOWARD THE COAST. LOW
CLOUDS WILL MOVE IN UNDER THE CIRRUS OVERCAST...WITH A LOW VFR
CEILING BY EVENING. INCREASING LOW LEVEL LIFT WILL RESULT IN
DEVELOPMENT OF PRECIPITATION AROUND 00Z...MAINLY COLD RAIN...WITH
SOME SLEET MIXED IN AT THE OUTSET. MVFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED
AFTER MIDNIGHT...WITH GUIDANCE AND MODEL MOISTURE LEVEL SUGGESTING
IFR...IF NOT WORSE...AROUND DAWN. IMPROVEMENT TO MVFR IS EXPECTED BY
MID MORNING AS LOW LEVEL LIFT DECREASES.
ELSEWHERE...LIGHT PRECIP AND LOW VFR CEILINGS WILL GRADUALLY
OVERSPREAD THE AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. PRECIP
WILL BEGIN AS A RAIN/SLEET MIX...BEFORE TRANSITIONING TO JUST RAIN
BY LATE EVENING EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS. AT KAVL THE RAIN/SLEET MIX
WILL TRANSITION TO -FZRA/SLEET WITH COOLING. PRECIP SHOULD CHANGE TO
RAIN AT KAVL AFTER MIDNIGHT. ALL TERMINALS SHOULD SEE CONDITIONS
DETERIORATE TO AT LEAST MVFR BY LATE EVENING...WITH VISIBILITY AT
LEAST IFR BY MORNING. IMPROVEMENT TO MVFR VISIBILITY WILL OCCUR BY
MID MORNING AS ATMOSPHERIC LIFT DECREASES.
OUTLOOK...VFR CONDITIONS SHOULD RETURN SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY
BEFORE ANOTHER GULF COAST SYSTEM AFFECTS THE AREA DURING MID-WEEK.
&&
.GSP WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
GA...NONE.
NC...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM EST
SUNDAY FOR NCZ033-048>050-052-064-501>506-508-510.
WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM EST SUNDAY
FOR NCZ053-065-507-509.
SC...NONE.
&&
SYNOPSIS...BSH
NEAR TERM...JAT
SHORT TERM...RWH
LONG TERM...BSH
AVIATION...JATHazardous weather outlook, Dec 12, 3:35 PM EST, 2 hours 25 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 335 PM EST SAT DEC 12 2009 NCZ053-065-132045- BUNCOMBE-HENDERSON- 335 PM EST SAT DEC 12 2009 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST SUNDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER STORM WARNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. NCZ033-048>050-052-064-501>506-508-510-132045- AVERY-MADISON-YANCEY-MITCHELL-HAYWOOD-TRANSYLVANIA- CALDWELL MOUNTAINS-GREATER CALDWELL-BURKE MOUNTAINS-GREATER BURKE- MCDOWELL MOUNTAINS-EASTERN MCDOWELL-GREATER RUTHERFORD-EASTERN POLK- 335 PM EST SAT DEC 12 2009 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST SUNDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. NCZ507-509-132045- RUTHERFORD MOUNTAINS-POLK MOUNTAINS- 335 PM EST SAT DEC 12 2009 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM EST SUNDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. WINTER STORM WARNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE. GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ035>037-051-056>059-062-063-068>072- 082-SCZ001>014-019-132045- RABUN-HABERSHAM-STEPHENS-FRANKLIN-HART-ELBERT-ALEXANDER-IREDELL- DAVIE-SWAIN-CATAWBA-ROWAN-GRAHAM-NORTHERN JACKSON-MACON- SOUTHERN JACKSON-CLEVELAND-LINCOLN-GASTON-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS- UNION NC-OCONEE MOUNTAINS-PICKENS MOUNTAINS-GREENVILLE MOUNTAINS- GREATER OCONEE-GREATER PICKENS-GREATER GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG- CHEROKEE-YORK-ANDERSON-ABBEVILLE-LAURENS-UNION SC-CHESTER-GREENWOOD- 335 PM EST SAT DEC 12 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST GEORGIA...PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA...WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. PRECIPITATION WILL SPREAD NORTH ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING AS A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES EASTWARD ALONG THE GULF COAST. COLD AIR INITIALLY OVER THE AREA COULD RESULT IN A BRIEF WINTRY MIX AS THE PRECIPITATION BEGINS. WARM AIR MOVING IN ALOFT SHOULD QUICKLY CHANGE THE PRECIPITATION TO ALL RAIN. NO SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NONE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Winter Weather
- Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding in Louisiana, December 12, 2009
- Flash Flood and High Wind in California, December 12 to 13, 2009
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, December 12 to 13, 2009
- Extreme Cold in North Dakota, December 12 to 15, 2009
- Winter Storm in Utah, December 12 to 14, 2009
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, December 12 to 13, 2009
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 12 to 13, 2009
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Utah, December 12 to 13, 2009
- Winter Storm in Montana, December 12 to 13, 2009
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in California, December 12 to 13, 2009
- Flash Flooding in Alabama, December 12, 2009
- Extreme Cold in Montana, December 12 to 13, 2009
More
Every storm in Georgia in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, December 2009
Sources
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: 207318.