S. An accompanying strong low pressure system was tracking eastward through the eastern Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.
Every event with a place to put it; 38 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 deep upper trough was moving from the mid-south into the southeast U.S. An accompanying strong low pressure system was tracking eastward through the eastern Gulf of Mexico toward Florida. Moderately cold air covered the eastern U.S., but the air mass was not of Arctic origin. Mild surface temperatures in the 50s the previous day prevented much of north Georgia and all of central Georgia from seeing significant snow accumulations. Much of the night and very early morning hours of the 2nd, the precipitation fell as rain across north Georgia. However, as the surface low tracked into Florida during the early morning hours, colder air spread into north Georgia. This changed the precipitation north of Interstate-20 to snow around 4 am EDT. Because of the warm ground conditions, significant snow accumulations on the ground were brief, although significant amounts of snow fell in many north Georgia counties. The details of the average and maximum snowfall reports from north Georgia counties reporting snow during this event are provided below.
Banks county had an average of 2.5 inches of snow with amounts varying widely from from 4.0 inches north to 0.0 inches south.|Barrow county had an average of 1.5 inches of snow.|Bartow county had an average of 1.0 inches of snow.|Carroll county had an average of 1.0 inch of snow, with up to 2.0 inches of snow in the Temple area.|Catoosa county had an average of 2.0 inches of snow, with 4.3 inches in the Ringgold area.|Chattooga county had an average of 3.0 inches of snow, with amounts varying from 6.0 inches in the north to 1.0 inch in the south.|Cherokee county had an average of 3.5 inches of snow, with amounts varying from 3.0 inches in the west to 4.0 inches in the northeast. A report of 7.0 inches of snow was received from Canton.|Clarke county had an average of 0.5 inches of snow.|Clayton county had an average of less than 1.0 inch of snow. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the official observation point for Atlanta, recorded 1.1 inches of snow.|Cobb county had an average of 3.0 inches of snow.|Coweta county saw only a trace of snow.|Dade county had an average of 2.0 inches of snow, with 4.0 inches observed on Sand Mountain.|Dawson county had an average of 3.0 inches of snow, with up to 5.0 inches in the north part of the county.|DeKalb county had an average of 1.0 inch of snow, with 2.0 inches observed in the Decatur area.|Douglas county had an average of 1.5 inches of snow.|Fannin county had an average of 2.5 inches of snow, with up to 4.1 inches observed in the Blue Ridge area.|Fayette county saw only a trace of snow.|Floyd county had an average of 1.5 inches of snow, with amounts ranging from 1.0 inch west to 3.0 inches in the Rome area.|Forsyth county had an average of 3.0 inches of snow, with amounts varying widely from 6.0 inches north to just 1.0 inch in the south.|North Fulton county had an average of 1.0 inch of snow, with amounts varying from 1.7 inches in Alpharetta to less than 1.0 inch south of downtown.|Gilmer county had an average of 3.5 inches of snow, with amounts varying from 3.0 inches west to 4.0 inches east.|Gordon county had an average of 1.75 inches of snow with amounts varying from 1.5 inches west to 2.0 inches east.|Gwinnett county had an average of 0.75 inch of snow, but 2.0 inches was observed in Lilburn and Buford in the north part of the county.|Hall county had an average of 2.75 inches of snow, with up to 3.0 inches in the north part of the county.|Haralson county had an average of 2.0 inches of snow.|Jackson county had an average of 1.0 inche, with amounts varying from 1.5 inches northwest to 0.5 inches southeast.|Lumpkin county had an average of 4.0 inches of snow.|Madison county had an average of 1.25 inches of snow, with amounts varying from 1.5 inches north to 1.0 inch south.|Murray county had an average of 2.25 inches of snow, with amounts varying from 3.0 inches north to 1.5 inches south.|Oconee county saw an average of only 0.5 inch of snow.|Oglethorpe county saw an average of only 0.5 inch of snow.|Paulding county had an average of 3.5 inches of snow, with amounts up to 4.0 inches in the northeast part of the county.|Pickens county had an average of 4.0 inches of snow, with amounts varying from 3.0 inches in the south to 8.0 inches in the Burnt Mountain area in the northeast part of the county.|Polk county had an average of 3.5 inches of snow, with up to 4.0 inches in Cedartown.|Rockdale county saw only 0.25 to 0.50 inch of snow.|Towns county had an average of 2.5 inches of snow, with amounts varying from 1.0 inch in the west to 4.0 inches in the east.|Union county had an average of 3.0 inches of snow, with amounts varying from 1.5 inch west to 9.0 inches east.|Walker county had an average of 3.0 inches of snow, with up to 7.0 inches in some of the higher elevations.|White county had an average of 3.5 inches of snow, with amounts varying from 2.0 inches south to 4.0 inches north.|Whitfield county had an average of 2.5 inches of snow, with amounts varying from less than 1.5 inch south to 4.0 inches north.
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 Mar 1, 10:00 PM EST, 5 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1000 PM EST MON MAR 1 2010 .UPDATE... CONFIDENCE IN SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATING SNOW TONIGHT AND AT LEAST DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE DAY TUESDAY IS DECREASING...PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF WARM GROUND AND WARM SFC/BL TEMPS. SFC TEMPS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN WELL ABOVE FREEZING THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE SNOW EVENT...EVEN IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF N GA. DESPITE SIGNIFICANT COLD AIR ALOFT...WARM LAYER MAY BE TOO DEEP TO ALLOW FOR MUCH SNOW TO REACH GROUND DURING FIRST PART OF EVENT. SECOND CONCERN IS THAT MUCH OF ENTIRE FIRST BATCH OF PCPN...NOW APPROACHING FROM AL...WILL BE ALL RAIN...THEN PCPN WILL BREAK/DECREASE DURING MID-DAY TUE AS A RESULT OF A DRY SLOT ADVECTING INTO THE AREA FROM THE SW. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANCE FOR SNOW AND ACCUMULATING SNOW MAY COME WITH A DEFORMATION ZONE THAT DEVELOPS ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE DEPARTING SFC/UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LATE TUE/TUE EVENING. MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT IN ADVERTISING THIS FOR THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. BY 00Z TUE...LOW-LEVEL COLD ADVECTION BECOMES SIGNIFICANT AND COLD LAYER WILL BECOME DEEP ENOUGH TO ALLOW FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW. THUS..THINKING NOW IS THAT BEST CHANCE FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL BE IN THE 4 PM TO 8 PM TIME FRAME TUE...NOT TONIGHT OR THROUGH EARLY TUE AFTERNOON. STILL...MUCH UNCERTAINTY REMAINS...BUT CONDITIONS JUST LOOK TOO WARM. MAIN FLY IN THE OINTMENT OF MORE RAIN OR MELTING SNOW WOULD BE POTENTIAL FOR CONVECTION...WHICH WOULD RESULT IN LOCAL DYNAMIC COOLING AND POTENTIAL BURSTS OF HEAVY SNOWFALL...WHICH OTHERWISE WOULD MOSTLY LIKELY BE RAIN. BECAUSE OF CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY AND NOT WANTING TO FLIP-FLOP ON WARNING...ADVISORIES...AND FORECAST...WILL LEAVE THE CURRENT WSW CONFIGURATION IN PLACE AND LET THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT EVALUATE THE 00Z RUN BEFORE MAKING ANY SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES. I HAVE MOVED ALL SNOW WORDING FURTHER NORTH FOR THE MORNING...ADDED MORE RAIN/SNOW MIX FOR THE DAYTIME...AND INCREASED SNOW WORDING FOR THE EVENING HOURS IN ANTICIPATION OF DEFORMATION ZONE. SNOW AMOUNTS WERE ADJUSTED ACCORDINGLY...DOWN IN THE MORNING...UP IN THE EVENING. TEMPERATURES LOOKED OK...AND MOSTLY ABOVE FREEZING ALL AREAS TUE UNTIL EVENING/NIGHT. NO CHANGES MADE HERE. 19 && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION ISSUED AT 530 PM EST... .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... WINTER WEATHER AND SNOWFALL ARE THE MAJOR CONCERNS WITH THE FORECAST. NORTH GEORGIA IS A TARGET AREA FOR RAIN OR A RAIN/SNOW MIX CHANGING TO SNOW TUESDAY MORNING. GFS/NAM RATHER CONSISTENT WITH MOVING SURFACE LOW PRESSURE ACROSS THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO TONIGHT AND ACROSS S GA/N FL TUESDAY. WHILE MOST OF N GA...EXCEPT FOR MAYBE THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS...WILL BE WARM ENOUGH TO START AS RAIN TONIGHT...THE AIRMASS WILL COOL TO PRODUCE SNOW FOR N AND PARTS OF CENTRAL GA FROM LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY AS LOW PRESSURE ALOFT MOVES OVER THE AREA. MUCH OF CENTRAL GA WILL GET ONLY RAIN. REFER TO THE WINTER STORM WARNING AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE SPECIFIC AREAS. THE QUESTION FOR MANY AREAS OF N GA WILL BE HOW MUCH AND IN GENERAL 1 TO 3 INCHES EXCEPT FOR 3 TO 5 INCHES FOR FAR NE GA...POSSIBLY LOCALLY HIGHER. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY BE AT THE BEGINNING OF TUESDAY THEN COOLING A FEW DEGREES FOR MUCH OF THE AREA. RAIN/SNOW DIMINISH LATE TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT WITH THE EXITING SURFACE SYSTEM. AN APPROACHING UPPER TROUGH COULD BRING FLURRIES TO FAR N GA WEDNESDAY. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE WELL BELOW NORMAL ON WEDNESDAY DUE TO A COLD N FLOW. OVERALL CONFIDENCE IS MODERATE. .LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... THIS PERIOD WILL BE DRY STARTING WITH AN UPPER TROUGH OVER THE AREA WITH AN UPPER RIDGE MOVING IN STARTING FRIDAY AND FLATTENING. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR A WARM UP OF TEMPERATURES AS THE PERIOD PROGRESSES. THE NEXT SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE LOWER MS VALLEY ON MONDAY ON THE GFS WITH A COLD FRONT APPROACHING FAR NW GA ON THE EUROPEAN. WILL JUST KEEP MONDAY DRY FOR NOW. 33 && .AVIATION... CIGS WILL BE SLOWLY LOWERING THROUGH THE NIGHT AS THE ONSET OF PRECIPITATION NEARS. CURRENT FORECAST SEEMS TO BE HANDLING THE ONSET WELL. THERE COULD BE A BREAK IN THE INTENSITY AS THE LOW PASSES IMMEDIATELY TO OUR SOUTH...BUT THEN PRECIP SHOULD REINTENSIFY AS THE WRAP AROUND MOVES INTO THE FORECAST AREA...THIS TIME SWITCHING OVER TO SNOW AS THE COLDER AIR MOVES IN BEHIND THE SURFACE LOW. VSBYS AT ATL AREA SHOULD DROP TO NEAR 1/2 MILE IN MODERATE SNOW AFTER 18Z TUE...DIMINISHING AFTER 00Z WED. CSG/MCN SHOULD BE THE LAST TO SWITCH OVER AND PROBABLY NOT UNTIL AROUND 00Z. WINDS WILL REMAIN NORTHEAST AND INCREASE TONIGHT...THEN SWITCH TO THE NORTHWEST BETWEEN 20Z TUE AND 00Z WED ALL AREAS. 17 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ATHENS 35 36 30 50 30 / 70 100 40 0 5 ATLANTA 36 38 30 46 31 / 90 100 40 0 5 BLAIRSVILLE 33 36 26 41 26 / 80 100 30 10 10 CARTERSVILLE 36 38 29 45 29 / 90 100 30 0 5 COLUMBUS 42 44 32 52 33 / 90 100 40 0 5 GAINESVILLE 35 36 29 45 30 / 80 100 40 0 5 MACON 40 44 32 52 32 / 90 100 40 0 5 ROME 36 38 32 46 30 / 90 100 20 0 10 PEACHTREE CITY 38 38 29 47 29 / 90 100 40 0 5 VIDALIA 41 44 35 52 34 / 70 100 60 5 5 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM NOON TUESDAY TO MIDNIGHT EST TUESDAY NIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: BUTTS...CLARKE... CLAYTON...COWETA...FAYETTE...GREENE...HEARD...HENRY...JASPER... LAMAR...MERIWETHER...MORGAN...NEWTON...OCONEE...OGLETHORPE... PIKE...PUTNAM...ROCKDALE...SPALDING...TALIAFERRO...TROUP... WALTON...WILKES. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 8 AM TUESDAY TO MIDNIGHT EST TUESDAY NIGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: BANKS...BARROW...BARTOW... CARROLL...CATOOSA...CHATTOOGA...CHEROKEE...COBB...DADE... DAWSON...DEKALB...DOUGLAS...FANNIN...FLOYD...FORSYTH...GILMER... GORDON...GWINNETT...HALL...HARALSON...JACKSON...LUMPKIN... MADISON...MURRAY...NORTH FULTON...PAULDING...PICKENS...POLK... SOUTH FULTON...TOWNS...UNION...WALKER...WHITE...WHITFIELD. && 33/17/19
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 347 PM EST MON MAR 1 2010 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-022100- 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- 347 PM EST MON MAR 1 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SOME SLIGHT ACCUMULATION OF SNOW IN THE NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS LATE TONIGHT. .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT. LOW PRESSURE OVER EASTERN TEXAS WILL DEEPEN AND MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN GULF TONIGHT...AND THEN INTO THE PANHANDLE OF FLORIDA BY DAYBREAK TUESDAY MORNING. THIS WILL SPREAD A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA LATE TONIGHT. IN THE NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS...THE PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS ALL SNOW WITH SOME SLIGHT ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW WILL SPREAD ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA TUESDAY MORNING AND BECOME ALL SNOW BY AFTERNOON WITH SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE SNOW...SEE THE LATEST WINTER STORM WARNING AND ADVISORY STATEMENTS. HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
26 heavy snow, 12 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The Dade County 911 Center reported an average of 2.0 to 3.0 inches of snow across the county, with 4.0 inches observed on Lookout and Sand Mountain.
The Barrow county 911 Center reported an average of 1.5 inches of snow.
The Bartow County 911 Center reported an average of 1.0 inch of snow.
The Carroll County 911 Center reported an average of 1.0 inch of snow across the county, with up to 2.0 inches of snow in the Temple area.
The Catoosa County 911 Center reported an average of 2.0 inches of snow across the county, with up to 4.3 inches in the Ringgold area.
The Chattooga County 911 Center reported an average of 3.0 feet of snow, with amounts varying widely from 6.0 inches in the north to just 1.0 inch in the south.
The Cobb County 911 Center reported an average of 3.0 inches of snow across the county, especially the northern sections.
The Floyd County Emergency Management Director reported an average of 1.5 inches of snow across the county, with amounts varying from 1.0 inch west to 3.0 inches in the Rome area.
The Haralson County 911 Center reported an average of 2.0 inches of snow across the county.
The Murray County 911 Center reported an average snowfall of 2.25 inches across the county, with amounts varying from 3.0 inches in the north to 1.5 inch in the south.
The Polk County 911 Center reported an average of 3.5 inches of snow across the county, with up to 4.0 inches in the Cedartown area.
The Walker County 911 Center and CoCoRAHS observers reported an average snowfall of 3.0 inches across the county, with up to 7.0 inches in the higher elevations.
The Whitfield County Emergency Management Director reported an average of 2.5 inches of snow across the county, with amounts varying from less than 1.5 inch in the south to 4.0 inches in the north part of the county.
The Banks County Emergency Management Director reported snowfall across the county ranging from 4.0 inches north to 0.0 inches in the south.
The Cherokee County Emergency Management Director reported snowfall ranging from 3.0 inches in the west to 4.0 inches in the northeast part of the county. However, there were reports of 7.0 inches of snow in Canton.
The FAA Observer at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport measured 1.1 inches of snow. Elsewhere across the county, snowfall amounts were generally well less than 1.0 inch.
The DeKalb County 911 Center reported that on average the county observed 1.0 inches of snow, but the North Decatur area experienced 2.0 inches of snow.
The Fannin County 911 Center reported an average of 2.5 inches of snow across the county, but 4.1 inches of snow was observed in the Blue Ridge area.
The Douglas County 911 Center reported an average of 1.5 inches of snow across the county.
The Forsyth County Emergency Management Director reported an average of 3.0 inches of snow across the county, with amounts varying from 6.0 inches in the north to less than 1.0 inch in the south part of the county.
The Fulton County 911 Center reported an average of 1.0 inch of snow across the north part of the county, but up to 1.7 inches of snow was observed in the Alpharetta area. The southern part of the county saw less than 1.0 inch of snow.
The Gilmer County 911 Center reported an average of 3.5 inches of snow across the county, with amounts varying from 3.0 inches in the west to 4.0 inches in the east.
The Gordon County 911 Center reported an average of 1.75 inches of snow across the county, with up to 2.0 inches across the eastern part of the county.
The Gwinnett County 911 Center reported an average of 0.75 inches of snow across the county, but 2.0 inches of snow was reported from the Lilburn and Buford areas.
The Lumpkin County 911 Center reported an average snowfall of 4.0 inches across the county.
The Paulding County 911 Center and Dallas cooperative observer reported an average of 3.5 inches of snow across the county, with up to 4.0 inches in the northeast part of the county.
The Pickens County Emergency Management Director reported an average snowfall of 4.0 inches across the county, with amounts varying widely from 3.0 inches in the south to 8.0 inches in the Burnt Mountain area in the northeast part of the county.
The Towns County 911 Center reported an average snowfall of 2.5 inches across the county, with amounts varying from 1.0 inch in the west to 4.0 inches in the east part of the county.
The Union County Emergency Management Director reported an average snowfall of 3.0 inches across the county with amounts varying from 1.5 inch in the west to 9.0 inches in the east in the Brasstown Bald and Suches areas. This was the maximum snowfall reported from any north Georgia county during this event.
The Dawson County 911 Center reported an average of 3.0 inches of snow across the county, with 5.0 inches observed in the northeast part of the county.
The Hall County 911 Center reported an average of 2.75 inches of snow across the county, with up to 3.0 inches in the north part.
The White County Emergency Management Director reported an average snowfall of 3.5 inches across the county with amounts varying from 4.0 inches in the north to 2.0 inches in the south.
The Clarke County 911 Center reported 0.5 inch of less of snow across the county.
The Jackson County 911 Center reported an average snowfall around the county of 1.0 inch, with amounts varying from 1.5 inch in the northwest to just 0.5 inch in the southeast part of the county.
The Madison County Emergency Management Director reported an average snowfall of 1.25 inches across the county with amounts varying from 1.5 inch in the north to 1.0 inch in the south.
The Oconee County 911 Center reported an average snowfall of just 0.5 inch across the county.
The Oglethorpe County Emergency Management Director reported an average snowfall of just 0.5 inch across the county.
The Rockdale County 911 Center reported an average snowfall of only 0.25 inch across the county, with a maximum snowfall anywhere of 0.5 inch.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, March 2010
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: 219613, 219457, 219458, 219459, 219460, 219608, 219612, 219618, 220028, 220034, 220046, 220053, 220055, 219456, 219609, 219611, 219615, 219616, 219617, 219619, 219620, 219621, 219622, 219623, 220030, 220042, 220044, 220049, 220052, 219614, 219624, 220054, 219610, 220029, 220031, 220038, 220041, 220047.