A very dry northwest flow was in place on the 21st. The combination of drying fuels, low relative humidity values and northwest winds between 10 and 15 MPH led to dangerous fire weather conditions across a large portion of the area, especially across north and east central Georgia.
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 very dry northwest flow was in place on the 21st. The combination of drying fuels, low relative humidity values and northwest winds between 10 and 15 MPH led to dangerous fire weather conditions across a large portion of the area, especially across north and east central Georgia.
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 21, 1:17 PM EST, 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 217 PM EDT THU MAR 21 2013 .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 1159 AM EDT THU MAR 21 2013/ ..RED FLAG WARNING CONTINUES TO BE IN EFFECT FOR NORTH AND EAST GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING... .UPDATE... MADE MINOR TWEAKS TO CLOUD COVER WITH SOME CIRRUS LINGERING MAINLY ACROSS CENTRAL GA. ALSO ADJUSTED DEWPOINTS DOWN A BIT PER LATEST OBS TREND...WHICH DID NOT ALTER AFTERNOON RH VALUES MUCH AND CURRENT RED FLAG WARNING / HIGH FIRE DANGER STATEMENTS STILL LOOK TO BE ON TARGET. REST OF FORECAST LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK AND PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... BAKER && PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 648 AM EDT THU MAR 21 2013/ PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 455 AM EDT THU MAR 21 2013/ .SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST TODAY. NORTHWEST FLOW WILL ADVECT DEW POINTS INTO THE TEENS OR LOWER INTO THE AREA...RESULTING IN DRY RELATIVE HUMIDITY. THE COMBINATION OF THE DRYING FUELS...LOW RH VALUES AND WINDS OF 10-15 MPH OR HIGHER WILL CREATE DANGEROUS FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS TODAY. HAVE ISSUED BOTH A RED FLAG WARNING AND A FIRE DANGER STATEMENT FOR PORTIONS OF THE AREA TODAY. SEE THE FIRE WEATHER SECTION BELOW FOR MORE. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN BELOW WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA. MOISTURE INTO THE AREA TONIGHT...ASSOCIATED WITH THE WEST SIDE OF THE LONGWAVE TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN US...WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR WINTRY PRECIP. MODELS STILL INDICATING LIMITED MOISTURE WITH THIS FEATURE...AND QPF AMOUNTS ARE LOW. CONSIDERING THE ATMOSPHERIC THERMODYNAMIC PROFILE...TOP DOWN METHOD CONTINUES TO SUGGEST A MIX OF SNOW...SLEET AND RAIN DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AS THE MOISTURE MOVES INTO WESTERN GEORGIA. AS TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO DROP...EXPECT A PERIOD OF TRANSITION TO ALL LIGHT SNOW ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA AND THE ATL METRO/AHN AREAS. LITTLE TO NO ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA...WITH ONLY ISOLATED ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO A QUARTER INCH ACROSS NORTHWEST GEORGIA. AT THIS TIME...DO NOT BELIEVE THESE AREAS WITH FORECAST ACCUMULATIONS WILL SEE ANY SIGNIFICANT ISSUES...SO HAVE NOT ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY AT THIS TIME. WILL ALLOW DAY SHIFT TO REASSESS THE LATEST MODEL RUNS AND DECIDE IF AN ADVISORY IS WARRANTED. DAY SHIFT WILL ALSO LIKELY HAVE TO ISSUE FREEZE WARNING FOR SOME PORTION OF THE AREA THAT WILL SEE FREEZING OR SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES AGAIN FRIDAY. TO AVOID CONFUSION WITH THE CURRENT FREEZE WARNING OUT FOR THIS MORNING...WILL HOLD OFF ISSUING THIS PRODUCT AS WELL. 31 && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... EXTENDED PERIOD BEGINS WITH RAIN ONGOING BUT UNCERTAINTIES EMERGE WRT PLACEMENT OF AXIS OF RAIN SHIELD. CONSENSUS IS NORTH GA BUT THERE ARE SOME OUTLIER MODELS THAT SHOW PRECIP EITHER SLOWER TO ARRIVE OR FURTHER SOUTH. FOR NOW...WENT WITH A BLEND OF THE CONSENSUS WHICH YIELDS CONTINUED LIKELY POPS OVER THE NORTHERN TIER THROUGH 12Z SAT. AFTER INITIAL WAVE OVER NORTH...FOCUS SHIFTS TO THE SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA FOR THE REMAINDER OF SATURDAY. SHOULD SEE SOME CONVECTIVE ELEMENTS WITHIN THIS DEVELOPING ZONE AND SOME TRAINING INFLUENCES SHOULD ALLOW FOR A PERIOD OF SUSTAINED HEAVY RAINFALL WITH ONE AND A HALF TO TWO INCHES LOOKING MORE LIKELY FOR THE SOUTHERN TIER. WILL ALSO NEED TO MONITOR SEVERE POTENTIAL CLOSELY AS SURFACE LOW LOOKS TO TRACK THROUGH CENTRAL ALABAMA. MUCH WILL DEPEND ON PLACEMENT OF SURFACE FRONT AND HOW MUCH NORTHWARD PROGRESSION IT CAN MAKE. ABUNDANT RAINFALL PRECEDING THIS COULD MEAN FRONT WILL REMAIN FURTHER SOUTH THAN MODELS PROJECT BUT WILL BE WORTH WATCHING THE NEXT FEW RUNS. HELICITY WILL BE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT TO INCREASE TORNADO POTENTIAL IF HIGHER VALUES OF CAPE CAN BE REALIZED. LOW LIFTS THROUGH THE MID ATLANTIC LATE SUNDAY WITH GRADUAL CLEARING FOR THE CENTRAL ZONES. STILL UNCERTAINTY WRT HOW MUCH WRAP AROUND WE GET BUT STILL LOOKS AS THOUGH MOUNTAINS COULD SEE LOW END CHANCE POPS WITH THE THREAT FOR WINTRY PRECIP FOR THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. DEESE && .FIRE WEATHER... FUEL MOISTURES CONTINUED TO DRY YESTERDAY...WITH MUCH OF THE STATE AT 8 PERCENT OR BELOW. THE 6 PERCENT FUEL MOISTURE AREAS ARE GENERALLY ACROSS NE GA AND ALONG THE SAVANNAH RIVER VALLEY...AND IN THE FAR SW CORNER OF THE CWA NEAR COLUMBUS AND AMERICUS. RELATIVE HUMIDITY WILL DROP TO 25 PERCENT OR LESS FOR 4 OR MORE HOURS TODAY ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA. WINDS TODAY ARE EXPECTED TO BE 10-15 MPH ACROSS THE AREA...BUT THE 15 MPH RFW CRITERIA IS ONLY EXPECTED TO BE MET ACROSS NORTHEAST AND PORTIONS OF EASTERN GEORGIA. AS A RESULT...HAVE ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR THE AREA MEETING WINDS...RH AND FUELS...AND HAVE GONE WITH A RFD/FIRE DANGER STATEMENT FOR EVERYWHERE ELSE. && .AVIATION... 18Z UPDATE... VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH MAJORITY OF PERIOD...THOUGH SOME HIGH END MVFR CIGS AND VSBYS POSSIBLE WITH PRECIP IN THE 08-12Z PERIOD. GENERALLY SCT HIGH CLOUDS THIS AFTERNOON WITH LOWERING TO NEAR 5 KFT TONIGHT. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR A MIX OF SNOW AND SLEET INITIALLY AROUND 08-12Z FOR MOST SITES EXCEPT KAHN...THEN TRANSITION TO -SHRA AFTER 12Z. CIGS LOOK TO GRADUALLY LIFT TO NEAR 8 KFT BY 16Z. WINDS WILL BE MOSTLY NW AT 10-14 KTS GUSTING NEAR 20 KTS THIS AFTERNOON...THEN DECREASE TO 4-6 KTS BEFORE BECOMING VRB 3-4 KTS AFTER 06Z TONIGHT. DIRECTION SHOULD SWING EAST TO SOUTHEAST FRIDAY WITH MAGNITUDES NEAR 5-6 KTS. //ATL CONFIDENCE...18Z UPDATE... MEDIUM CONFIDENCE ON PRECIP AND OVERNIGHT CIGS. HIGH CONFIDENCE ALL ELSE. BAKER && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ATHENS 53 32 56 38 / 0 20 30 80 ATLANTA 51 36 53 41 / 0 30 40 80 BLAIRSVILLE 43 28 51 38 / 0 20 50 90 CARTERSVILLE 49 34 54 40 / 0 40 50 90 COLUMBUS 58 38 58 48 / 0 20 30 30 GAINESVILLE 49 34 53 40 / 0 20 40 90 MACON 56 34 59 44 / 0 20 20 40 ROME 49 35 53 40 / 0 50 50 90 PEACHTREE CITY 52 32 55 41 / 0 30 30 50 VIDALIA 61 39 62 48 / 0 10 20 30 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: BALDWIN...BANKS...BARROW...CHEROKEE...CLARKE...COBB... DAWSON...DEKALB...FANNIN...FORSYTH...GILMER...GLASCOCK... GREENE...GWINNETT...HALL...HANCOCK...JACKSON...JEFFERSON... LUMPKIN...MADISON...MORGAN...NEWTON...NORTH FULTON...OCONEE... OGLETHORPE...PICKENS...PUTNAM...ROCKDALE...TALIAFERRO...TOWNS... UNION...WALTON...WARREN...WASHINGTON...WHITE...WILKES. && SHORT TERM...31/BAKER LONG TERM....DEESE AVIATION...BAKER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1231 PM EDT THU MAR 21 2013 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-221645- 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- 1231 PM EDT THU MAR 21 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... ...HIGH FIRE DANGER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE OVER NORTH AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA THROUGH MID EVENING... DISCUSSION... VERY DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY TO MID EVENING... WITH HUMIDITY VALUES IN THE 20 TO 25 PERCENT RANGE. THIS COUPLED WITH NORTHWEST WINDS AT 10 TO 15 MPH WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER GUSTS WILL RESULT IN DANGEROUS FIRE CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY OVER NORTHERN AND EASTERN ZONES WHERE WINDS WILL BE HIGHER AND FUEL MOISTURE WILL BE LOWER. A QUICK MOVING STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY TONIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING BRINGING A CHANCE OF SLEET AND RAIN TO PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. NO ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED EXCEPT POSSIBLY IN THE WESTERN SECTIONS WHERE LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS COULD OCCUR. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY... DISCUSSION... ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THIS WEEKEND BRINGING A CHANCE THUNDERSTORMS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. CONFIDENCE IS INCREASING IN AN AXIS OF ENHANCED RAINFALL FOR SOUTHERN SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA WHICH COULD CREATE SOME MINOR FLOODING CONCERNS. IN ADDITION...SOME OF THE STORMS ON THESE DAYS COULD BE STRONG...ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA WHERE LOW LEVEL SHEAR WILL BE MAXIMIZED. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS INSTABILITY WILL BE LIMITED...KEEPING THE OVERALL SEVERE THREAT IN CHECK BUT IF THESE VALUES INCREASE...THE SEVERE POTENTIAL WOULD LIKEWISE INCREASE WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. PLEASE STAY ABREAST OF THE LATEST CHANCES THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH UPDATES ON OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV/ATLANTA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED THROUGH TONIGHT. GIBBS
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 human-caused wildfire labeled Brittany burned 0.1 acres and resulted in $500 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, March 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: 434236.