A strong and deep upper-level trough remained anchored across the eastern half of the country resulting in an extended period of very cold temperatures and scattered light to occasionally moderate snow showers across northern Georgia from late in the evening on Monday, February 8th through early in the morning on Friday, February 12th. Most areas saw only trace amounts of snow accumulation,…
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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 strong and deep upper-level trough remained anchored across the eastern half of the country resulting in an extended period of very cold temperatures and scattered light to occasionally moderate snow showers across northern Georgia from late in the evening on Monday, February 8th through early in the morning on Friday, February 12th. Most areas saw only trace amounts of snow accumulation, however 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulated across the higher elevations of the North Georgia mountains.
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 8, 7:19 PM EST, 41 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 719 PM EST MON FEB 8 2016 .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 333 PM EST MON FEB 8 2016/ ..ACCUMULATING SNOW AND BLACK ICE POTENTIAL CONTINUES FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH GEORGIA THROUGH TUESDAY ALONG WITH DANGEROUS WIND CHILL VALUES FOR FAR NORTHEAST GEORGIA BEGINNING TUESDAY MORNING... SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... COMPLICATED FORECAST GIVEN THE ENVIRONMENT OF STRONG BROAD UPPER LOW AND SHALLOW UNSTABLE LAYER PROVIDING CONVECTIVE RAIN/SNOW SHOWER GENERATION WITH LOW QPF AND PWATS. MAIN AREAS OF IMPACT WITH ACCUMULATING SNOW CONTINUES TO BE THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF FAR NORTH GEORGIA AS LIGHT SNOW CONTINUES TO BE OBSERVED THOUGH THERMAL PROFILE TRANSITION SHOWS QUICK SUB-FREEZING COLUMN FARTHER SOUTH THAT BATTLES A DRIER NEAR-SFC LAYER. ALL IN ALL STILL LOOKING AT 1-2 INCHES IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS WITH LOCALLY HIGHER BEFORE FORCING/MOISTURE TRANSLATES AWAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. SOME LIGHT SNOW SHOWER OR FLURRY POTENTIAL OVERNIGHT FOR ALL OF NORTH GEORGIA INCLUDING THE ATLANTA METRO AREA AND AS FAR SOUTH AS NORTHWEST PORTIONS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA WITH LITTLE TO NO ACCUMULATION EXPECTED...ALTHOUGH THE BIGGER CONCERN MAY BE IF A LIGHT BAND OF SNOW SETS UP FARTHER SOUTH IN PORTIONS OF NORTH GEORGIA MIDDAY TUESDAY INTO AFTERNOON...WHICH CANNOT RULE OUT A QUARTER INCH OR LESS ACCUMULATION. THIS HAS HAD SOME RUN TO RUN CONSISTENCY IN THE SHORT TERM GUIDANCE SO WILL NEED TO CLOSELY MONITOR FOR ADDITIONAL IMPACTS. WILL BE LIKELY COVERING AREAS FARTHER SOUTH FROM WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ZONE WITH SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT. TO ADD MORE WINTRY HAZARDS IN THE MIX...THE BITTER COLD AIRMASS ADVECTING INTO THE AREA ALONG WITH GRADIENT WINDS RESULT IN WIND CHILL VALUES WITHIN ADVISORY LEVEL FOR THE FAR NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS /BELOW 5 DEGREES/...AND ACTUALLY APPROACH THE UPPER END OF WIND CHILL WARNING CRITERIA /NEAR 10 BELOW/ BY THURSDAY MORNING. THE CURRENT WIND CHILL ADVISORY AREA /JUST ISSUED WITH AFTERNOON PACKAGE/ WILL LIKELY BE EXTENDED FARTHER WEST AND SOUTH AS THE COLD GETS FURTHER REINFORCED THROUGH MIDWEEK. PLEASE MONITOR UPDATES AS CHANGES ARE LIKELY. BAKER LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY/... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE SOUTHEAST MID WEEK. A SHORT WAVE MOVING THROUGH THE SOUTHEAST THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY MAY BRING A CHANCE FOR PRECIPITATION DURING THAT TIME. GFS/ECMWF STILL DIFFER ON LOCATION AND AMOUNT OF MOISTURE WITH THIS SYSTEM. HAVE CONTINUED WITH LOW POPS FOR FRIDAY INTO FRIDAY NIGHT...BUT ADDED A CHANCE EXTREME NORTHEAST THURSDAY NIGHT. HAVE TRIED TO TWEAK PRECIP TYPE BASED ON TEMPERATURES. ECMWF SHOWING COLDER FOR THE WEEKEND AND TEMPERATURES WERE TRENDED DOWN A BIT. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION IS INCLUDED BELOW. 41 PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 620 AM EST MON FEB 8 2016/ LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... 500MB TROUGH AND STRONG SHORTWAVE ENERGY WILL BEGIN TO SHIFT OFF TO THE EAST TUESDAY NIGHT. SO ANY LINGERING ISO/SCT SNOW SHOWERS WILL TAPER OFF DURING THIS PERIOD. SINCE THE ATMOS IS PRETTY DRY AT THIS POINT AND VERY LITTLE ADDITIONAL SNOW IS ANTICIPATED. THE FORECAST SHOULD REMAIN DRY FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES OVER THE AREA AND THE MID LEVELS REMAIN FAIRLY QUIET. CWFA WILL REMAIN IN NW FLOW FOR MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE LONG TERM. THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE PROGGING A PRETTY GOOD SHORTWAVE TO DIG DOWN IN THE FLOW FOR THE END OF THE WEEK. THIS IS ALSO COINCIDENT WITH A LOW PRESSURE WAVE MOVING EAST ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST STATES. AN OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACROSS THE NORTHERN GULF/FLORIDA PANHANDLE WILL START PUSHING NORTH LATER THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. THE WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE IS PROGGED TO DEVELOP FURTHER WEST AND MOVE EAST ALONG THE BOUNDARY THROUGH LATE FRIDAY. ISENTROPIC LIFT ALONG AND NORTH OF THE BOUNDARY MAY PRODUCE SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION. MODELS HAVE CONSISTENTLY KEPT POPS AT 20 PERCENT OR LESS DURING THIS PERIOD. HOWEVER...THE LATEST ECMWF IS COMING IN A LITTLE WETTER THAN PREVIOUS RUNS. THE SYSTEM IS STILL A LITTLE FAR OUT...SO WILL GO WITH PERSISTENCE FOR NOW AND KEEP POPS CAPPED AT 20 PERCENT OR LESS FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. PTYPE MAY BE AN ISSUE WITH THE FRIDAY SYSTEM. DURING THE DAY FRIDAY...TEMPS LOOK WARM ENOUGH FOR ALL RAIN. HOWEVER...FRIDAY NIGHT WILL BE A LITTLE TRICKIER. THE PRECIPITATION MAY END AS A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION. MODEL SOUNDINGS ARE SHOWING SOME POTENTIAL FOR LIGHT FREEZING RAIN/DRIZZLE...MAINLY ACROSS NORTHERN GA. ITS STILL TOO FAR OUT TO NAIL DOWN EXACT PTYPES...SO WILL GO WITH RA OR SN. INTERESTED PARTIES SHOULD REMAIN WEATHER AWARE...ESPECIALLY SINCE PTYPE ISSUES ARE INVOLVED. THE WEEKEND LOOKS DRY AS STRONG HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE AREA. THE NEXT FRONT MAY BEGIN TO IMPACT THE CWFA BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. NLISTEMAA && .AVIATION... 00Z UPDATE... LIGHT RETURNS ON RADAR LARGELY NOT MAKING IT TO THE GROUND. CIGS WILL LOWER OVERNIGHT...WITH SCT MVFR BY 10-12Z AT NORTHERN TAF SITES AND VFR ELSEWHERE. EXPECT TO SEE SOME VCSH IN THE MORNING...WITH CHANCES OF -SHSN HANDLED BY PROB30S GENERALLY 13-23Z. LITTLE TO NO ACCUMULATION EXPECTED. HIGH UNCERTAINTY WITH PRECIPITATION FORECAST. WINDS WILL BE W-WNW AT 8-12KT OVERNIGHT...THEN INCREASING TO 10-14KT THROUGH THE DAY WITH GUSTS TO 20-25KT. //ATL CONFIDENCE...00Z UPDATE... LOW ON -SHSN CHANCE AND COVERAGE. HIGH ON ALL OTHER ELEMENTS. 31 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ATHENS 29 39 23 38 / 30 10 5 5 ATLANTA 29 36 23 37 / 20 30 20 5 BLAIRSVILLE 24 30 17 28 / 60 60 30 10 CARTERSVILLE 28 35 22 35 / 30 30 30 5 COLUMBUS 32 43 25 44 / 10 10 5 5 GAINESVILLE 28 34 22 33 / 30 20 20 5 MACON 31 43 25 44 / 20 5 5 5 ROME 28 35 21 35 / 30 40 30 5 PEACHTREE CITY 29 38 23 38 / 20 20 5 5 VIDALIA 34 46 28 47 / 20 5 0 5 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FROM 4 AM TUESDAY TO 10 AM EST THURSDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: DAWSON...FANNIN...GILMER...LUMPKIN... MURRAY...PICKENS...TOWNS...UNION...WHITE. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EST WEDNESDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES: CATOOSA...DAWSON...FANNIN...GILMER...LUMPKIN... MURRAY...TOWNS...UNION...WHITE...WHITFIELD. && SHORT TERM...31 LONG TERM....DEESE AVIATION...31
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1223 PM EST MON FEB 8 2016 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-091730- 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- 1223 PM EST MON FEB 8 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... THE COMBINATION OF A COLD AIRMASS IN PLACE AND A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL OF WINTRY WEATHER TO PORTIONS OF NORTH GEORGIA TODAY AND TUESDAY. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR AREAS MAINLY ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM RINGGOLD TO DAWSONVILLE TO CLEVELAND. LIGHT SNOW IS POSSIBLE TODAY ACROSS PORTIONS OF FAR NORTH AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA. A FEW REPORTS OF LIGHT SNOW HAVE BEEN REPORTED ACROSS NORTHWEST GEORGIA THIS MORNING. ANY LINGERING MOISTURE ON THE ROADWAYS OVERNIGHT WILL RE- FREEZE AND FORM BLACK ICE...ESPECIALLY ON ELEVATED SURFACES SUCH AS BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... LIGHT SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. THE HIGHEST ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTHEAST GEORGIA WHERE THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING. A DUSTING TO UP TO AN INCH OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS NORTH OF THE ATLANTA METRO AREA. FLURRIES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF GEORGIA SOUTH OF THE ATLANTA METRO. ANY LINGERING MOISTURE ON THE ROADWAYS MAY LEAD TO THE FORMATION OF BLACK ICE TUESDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 437 PM EST MON FEB 8 2016 GAZ001-002-011>013-019>025-027-030>037-041>048-052>055-057-091000- DADE-WALKER-CHATTOOGA-GORDON-PICKENS-FLOYD-BARTOW-CHEROKEE- FORSYTH-HALL-BANKS-JACKSON-MADISON-POLK-PAULDING-COBB- NORTH FULTON-GWINNETT-BARROW-CLARKE-OCONEE-HARALSON-CARROLL- DOUGLAS-SOUTH FULTON-DEKALB-ROCKDALE-WALTON-NEWTON-HEARD-COWETA- FAYETTE-CLAYTON-HENRY- 437 PM EST MON FEB 8 2016 ...SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS AND FLURRIES EXPECTED ACROSS NORTHWEST AND WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA... A COLD AIRMASS ALONG WITH A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL INCREASE THE POTENTIAL FOR SNOW SHOWERS OR SNOW FLURRIES ON TUESDAY ACROSS NORTHWEST AND WEST-CENTRAL GEORGIA. ACCUMULATIONS OF 1/2 TO 1 INCH WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS DADE...WALKER...CHATTOOGA AND FLOYD COUNTIES. A DUSTING TO 1/2 INCH IS POSSIBLE TO THE SOUTH AND EAST OF THESE AREAS...INCLUDING THE ATLANTA METRO AREA. THE BEST CHANCE TO SEE SNOW SHOWERS AND ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE BETWEEN 10 AM AND 10 PM TUESDAY. HEAVIER SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH GEORGIA WHERE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT. SHORT BURSTS OF HEAVIER SNOW COULD ACCOMPANY THE SHOWERS BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHICH COULD QUICKLY COVER THE GROUND AND CAUSE SLICK ROADS...ESPECIALLY BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. BY TUESDAY NIGHT...AREAS OF BLACK ICE COULD FORM WHERE RESIDUAL MOISTURE FREEZES AS TEMPERATURES FALL WELL BELOW FREEZING. STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST FORECASTS FOR UPDATES ON THIS EVOLVING WINTER WEATHER SITUATION ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA. DJN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
12 winter weather, 2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
A COOP observer in the Chatsworth area reported a tenth of an inch of snow.
The Fannin County Emergency Manager reported 2 inches of snow across the county.
The public reported 2 inches of snow just outside of Blairsville, another report was received through social media of 1 inch of snow in the Choestoe area.
A COOP observer reported a half of an inch of snow around Sautee.
An amateur radio operator reported a half of an inch to one inch of snow in the West Brook area. Another report of a half of an inch to an inch of snow was received from the public in the Talking Rock area.
A local TV news station reported a quarter to a half of an inch of snow in Rome.
A COOP observer reported a trace amount of snow east of Adairsville.
Reports of trace amounts of snow were received from the public in the Woodstock and Waleska areas.
A COOP observer southwest of Danielsville reported a tenth of an inch of snow.
A COOP observer southwest of Gainesville reported a trace of snow.
A COOP observer northeast of Doraville reported a trace of snow.
A COOP observer southeast of Washington reported a tenth of an inch of snow.
A COOP observer in the Winterville area reported around a quarter of an inch of snow.
A COOP observer northeast of Dallas reported a trace of snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, February 2016
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: 614304, 614305, 614306, 614307, 614308, 614309, 614310, 614311, 614312, 614313, 614314, 614315, 614316, 614317.