The second Arctic airmass of the year was entrenched across the eastern United States during mid-to-late January. As an area of low pressure developed over the Texas Gulf coast and pushed eastward to the northern Gulf coast, moisture spread northward into the lingering cold airmass beginning during the late morning of January 21st.
Every event with a place to put it; 33 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.
The second Arctic airmass of the year was entrenched across the eastern United States during mid-to-late January. As an area of low pressure developed over the Texas Gulf coast and pushed eastward to the northern Gulf coast, moisture spread northward into the lingering cold airmass beginning during the late morning of January 21st. Initially, a deep layer of dry air was in place early on the 21st before the moisture was able to moisten the column. With temperatures throughout the atmospheric column below freezing throughout the day on Tuesday the 21st, snow was able to fall in central Georgia and portions of north Georgia. By early evening, dry air took over most areas north of Macon and Columbus resulting in the end of the snowfall event, but in portions of central Georgia moisture stayed resulting in snowfall banding throughout the evening and early morning hours before tapering off.By the time the precipitation ended, several inches of snow (with one area close to ten inches) had accumulated across most of central Georgia with up to an inch observed closer to metro Atlanta. Due to the cold temperatures in the mid 20s and rush hour traffic, as soon as the snow fell it melted and refroze instantly on the roadways leading to icy roads for many on Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning as temps struggled to reach above freezing until Thursday.
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 Jan 21, 12:45 PM EST, 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 1245 PM EST Tue Jan 21 2025 ...New 18Z Aviation Discussion... .SHORT TERM... (Today through Wednesday) Issued at 403 AM EST Tue Jan 21 2025 Main forecast concerns are timing, extent and magnitude of winter precip today and tonight. Monitoring new model guidance but also observed trends upstream closely this morning, with some notable changes. First, models and WPC have increased liquid-equivalent QPF, esp over middle GA this afternoon. Some northward expansion of the area of QPF > 0.01" and corresponding light snow amounts also seen in model guidance as well. Temps have trended down just a tad and models still struggling with how fully north Georgia will see measurable precip and "wet-bulbing" and moistening due to diabatic cooling from frozen precip falling into dry air. Upstream over SE TX, much of LA and even SW MS, we are seeing reports of snow grains or graupel, light snow and some sleet with cloud bases as high as 5000ft and as far north as just south of Shreveport LA. Road impacts hard to tell but if won't take much to get some slick spots. Precipitation type still expected to be all snow with this event. The only exception will be in the far southeastern corner of the forecast area late tonight, where sleet could briefly mix in with the snow. Freezing rain also continues to look increasingly unlikely at any point during this event, which is in line with forecast thermal profiles. As such, no more than a trace of ice accumulation is forecast at this time. With the uptick in higher amounts, the "reasonable worst case" amounts (10% or 1/10 chance of exceedence) NBM probabilities and recent HRRR guidance indicate 3-5 inches of snow not out of the question for far southern parts of are area towards Cordele, Hawkinsville and Dublin. Based on all this, we expanded the advisory and warning a bit further north and increased accumulations. The end time for precip is a little faster than previous but did not lower amounts Cold weather advisory still warranted for tonight and Wednesday morning based on temps. Freezing of any melted snow or ice will certainly be an issue tonight and Wednesday morning as well. Temps wont go above freezing Wednesday until after noon to 2pm. SNELSON/King && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday night through Monday) Issued at 403 AM EST Tue Jan 21 2025 Another cold overnight period is expected Wednesday night into Thursday morning, with low temperatures expected to drop into the teen and low 20s across the forecast area. Temperatures will remain below freezing through Thursday afternoon before rising to highs in the upper 30s to low 40s. Snow accumulation that occurs during the short term forecast period will likely persist given the certainty of refreezing during the overnight and morning hours and the limited time for melting before temperatures drop below freezing again Thursday night. Furthermore, large portions of our forecast area (particularly in north Georgia) will be approaching 80-90 hours below freezing by Thursday afternoon, at which point impacts could be seen to pipes that are not properly insulated. Southwesterly upper level flow will return on Thursday ahead of a longwave trough extending through the Midwest and into the Great Plains, as the axis of this trough rotates southeastward, the weakening Arctic high will continue to get lifted away from the region to the northeast. This broad trough will then swing through the Southeast on Friday and through Georgia on Friday afternoon. However, development of a surface low associated with this trough is expected to occur well to the east of the forecast area, off the Atlantic coast. Also, dry air up to 850 mb is expected to further inhibit precipitation, and PoPs remain less than 10 percent areawide. The airmass will begin to gradually moderate over the Southeast late Friday going into into the weekend as surface high pressure settles in over the Southeast, with high temperatures expected to warm by few degrees each day. As moisture returns to the area, the next chance for precipitation is expected to be Sunday into Monday, though uncertainty remains with respect to timing and amounts. If the onset of precipitation is faster, beginning early Sunday, there is a slight chance for a light wintry mix in far northwest Georgia before transitioning to all rain by late Sunday morning. King && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1239 PM EST Tue Jan 21 2025 OVC cigs at 6000ft are expected to drop to 5000 ft in the next hour or two as light snow showers begin as early as 1 pm. Between 20 and 23z we could see CIGS drop to 2500ft periodically with the main axis of snow showers. By 01-03z any snowfall should move out of the area with NW winds prevailing. At 15z expecting winds to switch to the northeast and then to the southeast by 18z tomorrow. //ATL Confidence...18Z Update... Medium confidence on snowfall. Medium to high on all other elements. Hernandez && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Athens 33 17 37 18 / 50 20 0 0 Atlanta 32 16 37 22 / 50 10 0 0 Blairsville 27 5 34 13 / 20 0 0 0 Cartersville 31 10 38 18 / 20 0 0 0 Columbus 34 16 40 19 / 80 50 0 0 Gainesville 32 15 36 19 / 40 10 0 0 Macon 36 17 39 18 / 90 70 0 0 Rome 31 11 38 18 / 20 0 0 0 Peachtree City 33 13 39 18 / 60 20 0 0 Vidalia 40 23 37 21 / 80 100 0 0 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Cold Weather Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 9 AM EST Wednesday for GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062- 066>076-078>086-089>098-102>113. Winter Weather Advisory until 7 AM EST Wednesday for GAZ020>025- 027-030>039-041>049-052>055-057-066. Winter Storm Warning until 7 AM EST Wednesday for GAZ050-051-056- 058>062-067>076-078>086-089>098-102>113. && SHORT TERM...SNELSON LONG TERM....King AVIATION...Hernandez
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 423 AM EST Tue Jan 21 2025 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-220930- 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- 423 AM EST Tue Jan 21 2025 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for north and central Georgia. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight... Very cold temperatures, coupled with 10 mph winds, will bring wind chills of 5 to 15 degrees across north and central Georgia early this morning. A Cold Weather Advisory is in effect area-wide until 9 AM. A winter storm is forecast to impact central and portions of north Georgia today through early Wednesday. Snow is expected to be the dominant precipitation type. A Winter Storm Warning has been issued for portions of central Georgia and a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued north of the warning area into portions of north Georgia. Please see the latest Winter Weather Message product (WSWFFC) for more details and continue to monitor for future updates. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday... Bitterly cold conditions are expected once again early Wednesday morning, with wind chills of 0-10 degrees in north Georgia and 5-15 degrees in central Georgia. Patches of snow and ice on area roadways will continue to make driving hazardous is some areas, particularly in central Georgia and along less-traveled secondary roadways. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not requested but spotters are encouraged to submit reports of wintry precipitation through the web by going to weather.gov/atlanta. Please relay any information about observed wintry precipitation to the NWS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
66 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Widespread 2 to 3 inches of snow across Muscogee County.
Widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow across Harris County.
Widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow across the county.
Widespread 2 to 4 inches of snow occurred across the county resulting in numerous roads becoming icy and snowpacked.
Widespread 3 to 6 inches of snow occurred across Stewart County, resulting in hazardous travel conditions due to icy and snowpacked roads.
Widespread 4 to 6 inches of snow occurred across Webster County, resulting in hazardous travel conditions due to icy and snowpacked roads.
Widespread 4 to 6 inches of snow occurred, with isolated amounts up to 8 inches. This resulted in icy and snow-packed roads. Numerous untreated roads were likely impassible.
Widespread 4 to 6 inches of snow occurred, with isolated amounts up to 7 inches. This resulted in icy and snow-packed roads. Numerous untreated roads were likely impassible.
Widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow across the county.
Widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow across the county.
Widespread 2 to 4 inches of snow occurred across the county resulting in numerous roads becoming icy and snowpacked.
Widespread 3 to 6 inches across Macon County, that resulted in dangerous travel conditions due to icy and snow-packed roads.
Widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow across Jones County. Icy and snow-packed roads resulted in very dangerous travel.
Widespread 2 to 4 inches of snow across Washington County. Travel was very dangerous as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 2 to 4 inches of snow across Jefferson County. Travel was very dangerous as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Upson County.
Widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow across Monroe County.
Widespread 6 to 10 inches of snow across Crisp County. Icy and snow-packed roads led to very dangerous travel.
Widespread 2 to 4 inches of snow across Baldwin County. Icy and snow-packed roads resulted in very dangerous travel.
Widespread 3 to 6 inches of snow across Houston County, including 4 inches measured at EOC in Kathleen. Numerous roads quickly become icy and snow-packed resulting in extremely treacherous driving conditions.
Widespread 3 to 5 inches of snow across Peach County. Numerous roads quickly become icy and snow-packed resulting in extremely treacherous driving conditions.
Widespread 5 to 8 inches of snow across Dooly County. Numerous roads quickly become icy and snow-packed resulting in extremely treacherous driving conditions.
Widespread 5 to 8 inches of snow across the county.
Widespread 4 to 6 inches of snow across Bleckley County. Roads quickly became icy and snow-packed leading to dangerous travel conditions.
Widespread 2 to 5 inches of snow across Twiggs County with the highest amounts south of I-16. Travel quickly became very dangerous as roads were icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 4 to 6 inches of snow across Laurens County. Travel was very dangerous as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Troup County. Numerous accidents were being reported by late afternoon (~4pm) according to local law enforcement as roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Meriwether County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Pike County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Lamar County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Butts County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Jasper County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Putnam County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Up to 1 inch of snow fell across Coweta County. Due to very cold temperatures well below freezing, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents just before sunset.
Up to 1 inch of snow fell across Heard County. Due to the very cold temperatures, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 6 to 8 inches of snow across the county.
Widespread 3 to 5 inches of snow across Johnson County. Travel was very dangerous as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Greene County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 0.5 to 2 inches of snow across Morgan County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick which led to numerous road accidents being reported by local law enforcement (by ~6pm LST).
Widespread 0.5 to 2 inches of snow across Newton County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick resulting in numerous accidents, especially over untreated roadways.
Widespread 0.5 to 1.5 inches of snow across Fayette County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick which led to numerous accidents, especially over untreated roadways.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Spalding County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick which led to numerous accidents, especially over untreated roadways.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Clayton County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Up to 1 inch of snow fell across Fulton County. Due to very cold temperatures well below freezing, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents just before sunset.
Up to 1 inch of snow fell across Fulton County. Due to very cold temperatures well below freezing, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents just before sunset.
Up to 1 inch of snow fell across DeKalb County. Due to very cold temperatures well below freezing, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents just before sunset, especially over untreated roadways.
Widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow across the county resulted in numerous icy and snow-packed roads.
Widespread 2 to 4 inches of snow across Wilkinson County.
Widespread 5 to 6 inches of snow across Dodge County. Travel quickly became very dangerous as roads were icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 2 to 4 inches across Emanuel County. Travel deteriorated fast as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 3 to 5 inches of snow across Treutlen County. Travel was very dangerous as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 2 to 3 inches of snow across Hancock County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Warren County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow across Glascock County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Taliaferro County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick.
Widespread 1 to 2 inches of snow across Henry County. Roads quickly became snow covered and very slick which led to numerous accidents, especially on untreated roadways.
Widespread 0.5 to 1.5 inches of snow fell across Walton County. Due to very cold temperatures, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents around the county. At around 1830 LST, EM reported Hwy 138 from the Alcovy River to Pirkle Field Drive is a sheet of ice and all traffic is stopped.
Up to 1 inch of snow fell across Gwinnett County. Due to very cold temperatures well below freezing, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents just before sunset.
Up to 1 inch of snow fell across Athens-Clarke County. Due to very cold temperatures well below freezing, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents just before sunset.
Up to 1 inch of snow fell across Barrow County. Due to very cold temperatures well below freezing, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents just before sunset.
Up to 1 inch of snow fell across Jackson County. Due to very cold temperatures well below freezing, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents by sunset.
Widespread 0.5 to 1.5 inches of snow fell across Oconee County. Due to very cold temperatures well below freezing, roads quickly became snow covered and very slick, which led to numerous accidents just before sunset.
Widespread 4 to 7 inches of snow across Telfair County. Travel was very dangerous as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 4 to 7 inches of snow across Wheeler County. Travel was very dangerous as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 3 to 6 inches of snow across Montgomery County. Travel was very dangerous as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
Widespread 3 to 6 inches of snow across Toombs County. Travel was very dangerous as roads quickly became icy and snow-packed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, January 2025
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: 1239848, 1239850, 1239854, 1240135, 1240137, 1241535, 1241542, 1241543, 1241544, 1241545, 1241525, 1241712, 1241715, 1241771, 1241772, 1239855, 1239858, 1241714, 1241717, 1241719, 1241722, 1241724, 1241742, 1241750, 1241754, 1241770, 1244264, 1244266, 1244269, 1244271, 1244273, 1244280, 1244282, 1244308, 1244311, 1241739, 1241769, 1244294, 1244296, 1244297, and more.