A fairly dry pattern was in place on the 20th; a few showers moved through the area early in the day but surface high pressure built into the area during the afternoon. Relative humidity values did approach critical levels during the afternoon, but fuel moistures remained too high for fire danger conditions.
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.
A fairly dry pattern was in place on the 20th; a few showers moved through the area early in the day but surface high pressure built into the area during the afternoon. Relative humidity values did approach critical levels during the afternoon, but fuel moistures remained too high for fire danger conditions.
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 Apr 20, 2:48 PM EST, 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 348 PM EDT SAT APR 20 2013 .SHORT TERM /REST OF TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/... RELATIVELY QUIET SHORT TERM WITH FORECAST AREA DOMINATED BY SFC HIGH TO THE NORTH...ALLOWING FOR MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND ABNORMALLY COOL TEMPERATURES INTO SUNDAY. GUIDANCE IS IN GOOD CONSENSUS WITH DEVELOPMENT AND INTENSITY OF SFC HIGH AS IT IS PROGGED TO MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES AND INTO NEW ENGLAND BY SUNDAY NIGHT...STRENGTHENING CONSIDERABLY FROM A CURRENT 1024-MB CENTER TO NEAR 1040-MB 06Z MONDAY. SUCH A PROGRESSION WILL SET UP A CLASSICAL CAD EVENT SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO NIGHT...WHILE LOW LEVEL EASTERLY WINDS LOOK TO ADVECT ATLANTIC MOISTURE INTO THE SOUTHEAST PORTION OF THE AREA. AN APPROACHING SHORTWAVE TROUGH FROM THE WEST WITH LIMITED MOISTURE MAY SERVE TO ENHANCE CLOUD COVERAGE IN THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE AREA SUNDAY NIGHT. ALSO...SOME ISENTROPIC LIFT RESULTING FROM MOISTURE OVERRUNNING THE DEVELOPING WEDGE MAY ENHANCE SHOWER DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTHEAST...THOUGH THE NAM IS MORE BULLISH ON THIS THAN THE GFS. ALL CONSIDERED...MAJORITY OF THE AREA THUS LOOKS TO HAVE ENHANCED CLOUD COVER SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO NIGHT...AND A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS IN THE SOUTHEAST SUNDAY NIGHT. FOR TEMPS...HAVE BEEN A BIT COOLER THAN THOUGHT SO FAR THIS AFTERNOON AND DEWPOINTS HAVE BEEN SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN PARTS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA. RESULTANT RH VALUES ARE PROGGED TO GET A BIT HIGHER THAN PREVIOUSLY FORECAST AND SHOULD ONLY HAVE SOME SPOTTY 25 PERCENT READINGS. FUELS HAVE BEEN DRYING BUT SHOULD ALSO BE GENERALLY TOO WET FOR FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS THIS AFTERNOON. WENT WITH A BLEND OF SHORT TERM GUIDANCE AS THIS LOOKS REASONABLE FOR SHORT TERM. THIS RESULTS IN SOME LOCATIONS GETTING NEAR 36 DEGREES OVERNIGHT TONIGHT...THOUGH A FEW DEGREES WARMER THAN WHAT VERIFIED THIS MORNING. BELIEVE SOME ISOLATED LOW LYING LOCATIONS WILL STILL SEE SOME PATCHY FROST IN THE EARLY MORNING...THOUGH NOT AS MUCH OF A THREAT TO WARRANT ANOTHER FROST ADVISORY. EVENING SHIFT WILL NEED TO MONITOR TEMP TRENDS HOWEVER SINCE SOME AREAS LOOK TO BE BORDERLINE AND UPDATES MAY BE NECESSARY. HIGHS SUNDAY SHOULD GENERALLY RANGE FROM THE MID 60S TO LOW 70S AND BE 3-5 DEGREES WARMER THAN TODAY. BAKER .LONG TERM /MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... HAVE MADE A FEW ADJUSTMENTS TO THE LONG TERM. WITH WEDGE IN PLACE ON MONDAY...HAVE ADDED SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS OVER THE EAST SIDE OF THE CWA. TUESDAY STILL LOOKS DRY. GFS AND ECMWF SEEM TO HAVE SLOWED THE NEXT FRONT...SO HAVE CUT BACK ON POPS FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AND CONFINED THEM TO THE NORTHWEST CORNER. FRONTAL PASSAGE ON WEDNESDAY STILL LOOKS GOOD. MODELS HINT THAT FRONT MAY LINGER A BIT IN THE CENTRAL ZONES ON THURSDAY BUT DID NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES FOR THAT. ADDED POPS FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY AS BOTH MODELS NOW SHOW A SHORT WAVE DEVELOPING IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY DURING THAT TIME. OTHERWISE...A FEW MINOR TWEAKS TO TEMPERATURES AND CLOUD COVER. 41 && AVIATION... 18Z UPDATE... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH FORECAST PERIOD. INITIAL NNW TO N WINDS AT 9-12 KTS GUSTING 18-20 KTS SHOULD SWING NE AFTER 03-05Z THIS EVENING AND DECREASE TO 3-5 KTS. STRENGTHENING PRESSURE GRADIENT SUNDAY WILL ALLOW FOR EASTERLY WINDS AROUND 12 KTS GUSTING 20 KTS AFTER 14Z WITH STRONGER WINDS POSSIBLE AT KATL IN THE AFTERNOON. FOR CLOUDS...INITIALLY SKC THEN SOME FEW TO SCT AT 25 KFT LOOK TO BUILD IN OVERNIGHT...AND SCT 5 KFT AT KATL AFTER 19Z SUNDAY. //ATL CONFIDENCE...18Z UPDATE... HIGH CONFIDENCE ALL ELEMENTS. BAKER && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ATHENS 42 69 46 63 / 0 5 10 20 ATLANTA 45 67 48 64 / 0 5 10 10 BLAIRSVILLE 37 63 43 63 / 0 5 10 20 CARTERSVILLE 38 68 46 65 / 0 5 10 10 COLUMBUS 43 72 52 69 / 0 5 10 10 GAINESVILLE 43 65 46 62 / 0 5 10 20 MACON 40 72 49 67 / 0 10 20 20 ROME 38 68 45 67 / 0 5 10 10 PEACHTREE CITY 37 69 46 65 / 0 5 10 10 VIDALIA 48 71 54 69 / 0 10 20 20 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...BAKER LONG TERM....41 AVIATION...BAKER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1113 AM EDT SAT APR 20 2013 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-211515- 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- 1113 AM EDT SAT APR 20 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY... THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS LATE TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS THE NEXT COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The National Forest Service reported that a wildfire of unknown cause labeled Shooting Range burned 0.1 acres and resulted in $300 in damages.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, April 2013
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: 455449.