GA New Year's Showers Forecast With Southeast Snowfall Possible
GEORGIA — Mimicking Christmas, the New Year’s Eve weekend is forecast to be wet with rainfall forecast to begin Friday night in the North Georgia mountains and Monday afternoon in metro Atlanta.
Meanwhile, the southeast region of the U.S. could potentially see snowflakes this week due to a snowstorm from the Plains though Georgia impact could be minimal, AccuWeather reported Tuesday.
No severe weather is expected in the metro and surrounding areas; however, Georgia’s mountainous region should start to see scattered rain showers Friday night into Saturday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Samuel Marlow told Patch Thursday.
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The area of Helen, Blairsville, Chatsworth and Ellijay could be affected by the mixed precipitation, he said. Temperatures are expected to be high in the 40s with the mountain tops forecast to feel temperatures in the mid-30s, possibly upper 30s.
“The higher elevation we go, the colder it’ll get,” Marlow said.
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Some scattered showers are possible for metro Atlanta midday to early afternoon Monday, New Year’s Day, he said. Low temperatures could be around 37 degrees and are not predicted to sit near the freezing mark.
No major hazards are forecast with the rainfall, Marlow said, who noted the showers are appreciated and are “fairly common” for the wintertime in Atlanta.
Savannah may not be exempt from the rain as showers are predicted after 1 p.m. Monday and overnight into Tuesday.
“This is actually really good because we did need this rain,” Marlow said, recalling drought periods in October and November.
Ahead of the rain, AccuWeather on Tuesday said a blizzard-causing snowstorm in the Plains could potentially bring snowflakes to the southeast at the tail end of the week.
Though the chances of snowflakes in North Georgia are minimal Friday night into Saturday, snow could accumulate starting Thursday night in areas such as St. Louis, Missouri; Paducah, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; and Huntsville, Alabama, AccuWeather reported.
“As a disturbance drops into the storm and as the air turns colder from Friday night to Saturday, snow showers will become more frequent over the southern Appalachians,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said in a news release. “This is when parts of northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and northern and western Virginia stand the best chance of a small accumulation.”
The National Weather Service’s Peachtree City office predicts the following detailed forecast for metro Atlanta as of 1:15 p.m. Thursday:
This Afternoon: Mostly sunny, with a high near 51. West wind 5-10 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Northwest wind 5-10 mph.
Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. West wind 5-10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. West wind 5-10 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 46. West wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 55.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.
New Year’s Day: Scattered showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 52. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 30.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 50.
Tuesday Night: Widespread frost. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 32.
Wednesday: Scattered showers. Widespread frost. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 51. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.
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