Heavy Snow in Georgia, January 31, 2026

Name: Heavy Snow in Georgia, January 31, 2026
Start: 2026-01-31T04:00
End: 2026-01-31T22:00
Location: Georgia

January 31, 2026 · NWS GSP · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS GSP wrote it up.

For the second time in a week, a winter storm impacted the Piedmont of northeast Georgia as an area of low pressure intensified across the Deep South. In this case, after a brief period of rain, or a mix of rain and snow at the outset, the bulk of the precipitation fell as snow. Snow began falling during the pre-dawn hours of the 31st and continued through much of the day. By the time the snow tapered off during the afternoon, 3 to 5 inch totals were reported across much of the area.

What forecasters said that day

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 Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 1:16 AM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 1:16 AM EST, 2 hours 44 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 31, 3:40 AM EST, 20 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg SC
340 AM EST Sat Jan 31 2026

GAZ010-017-018-026-028-029-NCZ035>037-056-057-068>072-082-502-504-
506-508-510-SCZ008>014-019-101>109-010845-
Rabun-Habersham-Stephens-Franklin-Hart-Elbert-Alexander-Iredell-
Davie-Catawba-Rowan-Cleveland-Lincoln-Gaston-Mecklenburg-Cabarrus-
Union-Greater Caldwell-Greater Burke-Eastern McDowell-
Greater Rutherford-Eastern Polk-Cherokee-York-Anderson-Abbeville-
Laurens-Chester-Greenwood-Oconee Mountains-Pickens Mountains-
Greenville Mountains-Greater Oconee-Greater Pickens-
Central Greenville-Southern Greenville-Northern Spartanburg-
Southern Spartanburg-
340 AM EST Sat Jan 31 2026

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST SUNDAY...
...EXTREME COLD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO
10 AM EST SUNDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northeast Georgia, Piedmont
North Carolina, western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.
   Extreme Cold Warning.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.
   Extreme Cold Warning.

Temperatures will remain very cold through early next week.
Temperatures across portions of the area are likely to remain below
freezing until at least Monday afternoon. As this period of unusually
cold weather continues, the potential for damage to infrastructure,
including burst water pipes, will steadily increase.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are requested to report snow and ice accumulations to our
office.

NCZ033-048>053-058-059-062>065-501-503-505-507-509-010845-
Avery-Madison-Yancey-Mitchell-Swain-Haywood-Buncombe-Graham-
Northern Jackson-Macon-Southern Jackson-Transylvania-Henderson-
Caldwell Mountains-Burke Mountains-McDowell Mountains-
Rutherford Mountains-Polk Mountains-
340 AM EST Sat Jan 31 2026

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM EST SUNDAY...
...EXTREME COLD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON
TO 1 PM EST SUNDAY...

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for western North Carolina.

.DAY ONE...Today and tonight.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.
   Extreme Cold Warning.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday.

Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the
Internet for more information about the following hazards.

   Winter Storm Warning.
   Extreme Cold Warning.

Temperatures will remain very cold through early next week.
Temperatures across portions of the area are likely to remain below
freezing until at least Monday afternoon. As this period of unusually
cold weather continues, the potential for damage to infrastructure,
including burst water pipes, will steadily increase.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotters are requested to report snow and ice accumulations to our
office.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Elbert

When: January 31, 4:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Elbert forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 34.117, -82.840 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hart

When: January 31, 4:00 AM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Hart forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 34.351, -82.964 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Georgia in 2026 Every state in 2026 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, January 2026

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1312930, 1312931.