A back door dry cold front moved through the state early on the 8th. An upper ridge was slowly building across the area as well, leading to dry conditions, although relative humidity values remained above critical levels for dangerous fire weather 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 back door dry cold front moved through the state early on the 8th. An upper ridge was slowly building across the area as well, leading to dry conditions, although relative humidity values remained above critical levels for dangerous fire weather 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 Mar 8, 2:31 PM EST, 23 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 231 PM EST FRI MAR 8 2013 .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO PROGRESS EASTWARD INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH THE RIDGE AXIS ALIGNING NORTH- SOUTH THROUGH THE OHIO AND TENNESSEE VALLEYS AND THROUGH GEORGIA BY SATURDAY MORNING. EXPECTING SLIGHT WARMING TREND IN HIGH TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE SHORT TERM...WITH MID 60S TO LOW 70S BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE SLIGHTLY COOLER THAN NORMAL SATURDAY...AND NEAR NORMAL SUNDAY AS LOWS GENERALLY DROP ONLY INTO THE UPPER 30S AND LOW 70S. OVERALL...QUIET SHORT TERM IN STORE WITH NO MAJOR CONCERNS. ONLY ISOLATED AREAS ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO FREEZING TEMPERATURES TONIGHT...SO HAVE HELD OFF ON A FREEZE WARNING. WITH LIGHT WINDS AND LOW TEMPERATURE-DEW POINT SPREAD...HAVE OPTED TO INCLUDE MENTION OF PATCHY FROST ACROSS MUCH OF NORTH AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA. AT THIS TIME...NO FROST ADVISORY OR FREEZE WARNING WILL BE ISSUED. BELANGER .LONG TERM /SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... FORECAST LOOKS TO BE ON TRACK IN THE EXTENDED PERIODS AND NO CHANGES TO THE FORECAST HAVE BEEN MADE AT THIS TIME. MODELS STILL INDICATING NEXT SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA MONDAY INTO TUESDAY...AND 12Z MODELS STILL ADVERTISING SEVERELY LIMITED CAPE TO ACCOMPANY THE FRONT THROUGH THE AREA. HAVE CONTINUED WITH MENTION OF ISOLATED THUNDER. THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION IS INCLUDED BELOW... DEESE /ISSUED 217 AM EST FRI MAR 8 2013/ WHILE THE UPPER RIDGE AXIS PUSHES EAST OF THE FORECAST AREA BY SUNDAY...A FAIRLY HIGH AMPLITUDE UPPER SHORTWAVE TROUGH ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS IS PROGGED TO LIFT NE AND DAMPEN AS IT BECOMES ABSORBED BY THE MAIN LONGWAVE ENERGY. THE TRANSLATED SFC LOW WITH THIS FEATURE AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL BE THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE LONG TERM AS IT LOOKS TO IMPACT THE AREA MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. HAVE STUCK CLOSE TO THE SLIGHTLY MORE PROGRESSIVE GFS SOLUTION AS THIS HAS SHOWN BETTER CONSISTENCY RECENTLY. WHILE PROGGED MUCAPE VALUES ARE QUITE LIMITED AND AT BEST NEAR 100 J/KG...THERE LOOKS TO BE STRONG LOW LEVEL AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR IN PLACE ALONG WITH GOOD UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE IN THE EXIT REGION OF A 120-140KT 250MB JET. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE MAIN INHIBITOR FOR HIGHER CAPE IS A FAIRLY STRONG MID LEVEL WARM NOSE NEAR 800MB...WHICH WOULD REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT SFC WARMING TO OVERCOME. HAVE DECIDED TO CONTINUE WITH ISOLATED THUNDER MENTION MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT WITH LIKELY POPS NEAR FRONT...THEN DIMINISH TO SE PORTION OF AREA BY TUESDAY MORNING. WILL DEFINITELY NEED TO CLOSELY MONITOR TRENDS AS THIS SYSTEM SOON GETS INCLUDED IN THE SHORT TERM GUIDANCE...AND ANY INCREASE IN INSTABILITY AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT WOULD RAISE THE ODDS FOR SEVERE POTENTIAL. BEHIND THE AFOREMENTIONED SYSTEM...SFC HIGH PRESSURE AND MOSTLY ZONAL FLOW ALOFT LOOK TO DOMINATE THE REST OF THE WORK WEEK. THIS SHOULD ALLOW FOR MOSTLY CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS. BAKER && .AVIATION... 18Z UPDATE... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH THE PERIOD. NEAR CALM WINDS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BECOME NNW AT 4-6KTS...THEN OVERNIGHT GRADUALLY SHIFT TO THE NE AND THEN SE SATURDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL BE 5-7KTS BY 18Z. INCREASING HIGH CLOUDS WILL BE FEW- SCT SATURDAY MORNING...BECOMING BKN250 IN THE AFTERNOON. //ATL CONFIDENCE...18Z UPDATE... HIGH CONFIDENCE ON ALL ELEMENTS. BELANGER && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ATHENS 34 65 40 68 / 0 0 0 0 ATLANTA 40 65 44 67 / 0 0 0 0 BLAIRSVILLE 33 63 39 63 / 0 0 0 0 CARTERSVILLE 34 66 41 68 / 0 0 0 0 COLUMBUS 41 68 46 72 / 0 0 0 0 GAINESVILLE 37 63 42 65 / 0 0 0 0 MACON 35 66 39 71 / 0 0 0 0 ROME 33 67 41 69 / 0 0 0 0 PEACHTREE CITY 34 65 38 69 / 0 0 0 0 VIDALIA 40 68 46 72 / 0 0 0 0 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...BELANGER LONG TERM....DEESE AVIATION...BELANGER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 245 PM EST FRI MAR 8 2013 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-091945- 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- 245 PM EST FRI MAR 8 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. PATCHY FROST IS EXPECTED ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THROUGH 9 AM SATURDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY... DISCUSSION... A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH A DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO PUSH ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA FROM THE NORTHWEST BEGINNING MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EXITING THE SOUTHEAST PORTION BY EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. RAIN SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG AND NEAR THE FRONT. WHILE WIND SHEAR LOOKS TO BE STRONG..FORECAST INSTABILITY IS QUITE LIMITED...THEREFORE SEVERE POTENTIAL IS LOW AT THE MOMENT. THE MAIN THREATS WITH ANY STORM DEVELOPMENT WILL BE OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS...AND BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAINFALL. FUTURE UPDATES TO THE FORECAST SHOULD BE CLOSELY MONITORED FOR ANY POTENTIAL CHANGES WITH THIS SYSTEM. .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 May Mtn. burned 3 acres and resulted in $250 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: 434234.