An overall dry first part of February combined with gusty winds led to several wildfires within United States Forest Service land. All of the wildfires were human caused.
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.
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.
An overall dry first part of February combined with gusty winds led to several wildfires within United States Forest Service land. All of the wildfires were human caused. A wildfire, which began in the Peeples Lake area of Murray county on February 9, 2009, burned until February 11, 2009. The fire consumed 54 acres and resulted in $15,000 in damages.
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 Feb 9, 2:05 AM EST, 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 205 AM EST MON FEB 9 2009 .SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... GFS/NAM SIMILAR WITH THE BACKDOOR FRONT THIS MORNING...OR WHAT THERE WILL BE OF IT. CURRENTLY SKIES ARE CLEAR FROM GEORGIA UP INTO PENNSYLVANIA WITH A LARGE CIRRUS DECK MOVING OVER GA. BASED ON CURRENT UPSTREAM CONDITIONS FEEL BACKDOOR FRONT WILL BE A WINDSHIFT LINE AND THAT IS ABOUT IT. BY 18Z BOTH MODELS WIPE OUT THE EAST FLOW. THE H8 WINDS INCREASE TO 20 TO 25 KTS OVER NORTH AND WEST GA BY 18Z AND MAY NEED TO ADD A FEW GUSTS FOR THIS AFTERNOON. MOISTURE IN THE MID LEVELS WILL BE INCREASING TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY AHEAD OF THE NEXT SYSTEM. THIS WILL RESULT IN A FEW MORE CLOUDS BUT DO NOT SEE ANY CHANCE OF PRECIP UNTIL WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. LOW LEVEL JET OF 50 TO 60 KTS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE CWA WEDNESDAY AND THERE IS A HINT OF NEGATIVE LIS IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON BUT STABILIZES THRU THE AFTERNOON. CAPES AROUND 200 AND LESS IN A NARROW LINE IMMEDIATELY ALONG THE FRONT. FEEL THERE REMAINS A RISK OF THUNDER...BUT NOT MUCH HOWEVER ANY SHOWER/TSTORM THAT HAS ANY KIND OF VERTICAL EXTENT COULD TAP INTO THE LOW LEVEL JET AND BRING SOME OF THOSE WINDS TO THE SURFACE. ONCE AGAIN THE LIMITING FACTOR IN THIS WILL BE THE LIMITED MOISTURE. WILL KEEP CHANCE POPS GOING OVER ALL EXCEPT THE EXTREME NORTH WHERE THE DEEPEST MOISTURE WILL BE LOCATED ALONG THE FRONT. NO BIG TEMP SWINGS THRU WEDNESDAY AS LOW AND MID LEVEL THICKNESS VALUES WILL REMAIN NEARLY CONSTANT. .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... WEDNESDAYS SYSTEMS CLEARS THE CWA BY THURSDAY. WE REMAIN UNDER A VERY FAST WEST TO WEST SOUTHWEST H5 FLOW WITH WHAT APPEARS TO BE A TRAIN OF SHORT WAVES THAT TAP INTO THE GULF AND PULLS MOISTURE OVER THE CWA. WITH EACH SYSTEM THAT THE GFS ADVERTISES...A WEDGE SITUATION SETS UP. THIS WOULD ELIMINATE THE RISK OF THUNDER OVER THE CWA WITH THE SYSTEM ON FRIDAY/FRIDAY NIGHT...AND AGAIN SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY. WILL GO WITH THE WEDGE SCENARIO AND KEEP THUNDER OUT OF THE LONG TERM. THE OTHER PROBLEM IS THAT WITH EACH RUN OF THE MODEL...THE TIMING CHANGES...THEREFORE CONFIDENCE IN THE LONG TERM IS LOW. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ATHENS 73 47 73 50 71 / 0 0 5 10 50 ATLANTA 70 50 70 51 69 / 0 0 5 10 50 BLAIRSVILLE 64 42 66 44 64 / 0 0 10 10 60 CARTERSVILLE 69 44 70 49 71 / 0 0 10 10 50 COLUMBUS 72 48 75 53 74 / 0 0 5 5 40 GAINESVILLE 68 47 71 49 67 / 0 0 5 10 60 MACON 75 45 76 49 73 / 0 0 5 5 40 ROME 72 44 71 49 70 / 0 0 10 10 60 PEACHTREE CITY 71 42 72 48 71 / 0 0 5 5 50 VIDALIA 76 50 76 54 75 / 0 0 5 5 30 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 17
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 540 AM EST SUN FEB 8 2009 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-091045- 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- 540 AM EST SUN FEB 8 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SYNOPSIS... A LARGE...DRY...STABLE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM PERSISTS ACROSS FLORIDA. THIS HIGH WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN AS A NEW AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE DRIFTS FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS TOWARD THE MID-ATLANTIC THROUGH MONDAY. AS THIS OCCURS...A WEAK BACKDOOR FRONT WILL DRIFT INTO NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA EARLY MONDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY. SHOWERS WITH VERY GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE LATE WEDNESDAY IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA. OTHERWISE... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT. 19
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The U.S. Forest Service reported that a human caused wildfire in the Peeples Lake area consumed 54 acres and resulted in $15,000 in damages.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, February 2009
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: 155028.