This weekend, Cold Air Damming (aka The Wedge) will set up over the Appalachian Mountains, and that is going to play into what kind of winter weather we will experience, how much of it and for how long.
Meanwhile, a surface low will travel through the Southeast, Gulf Moisture into the state of Georgia. This moisture will start off as rain Saturday evening, but as the rain interacts with “The Wedge”, it will transition over to a wintry mix through Sunday Morning.
“Wintry Mix” means sleet, freezing rain, and snow are all possible within the cold rain. The type of wintry precipitation depends on the temperature profile from the surface of the ground through the entire column of the atmosphere.
If warm air is present above a layer of cold air, then freezing rain and/or sleet may form. Sleet forms when the rain refreezes into ice pellets before reaching the ground. Freezing rain forms when liquid rain freezes on contact with an ice cold surface, like a car or sidewalk.
The Wintry Mix will transition over to all snow through Sunday evening. However, if freezing rain and/or sleet accumulates, impacts to travel and power supplies may occur Sunday afternoon through Monday morning.
Air temperatures will stay below freezing through Monday morning. Afternoon highs will climb into the low 40s on Monday afternoon.
Quick Overview
- Timeline: 12am Sunday Morning through 10am Monday Morning
What Type of Precip:
- -Begins as rain late Saturday night through 12am Sunday, transitions over to wintry mix Sunday morning
- -Freezing Rain, Sleet most likely Sunday morning through Sunday afternoon
- -Transitioning to all Snow Sunday evening
- -Precip ends 12am Monday, but freezing temperatures through 10am Monday
So... This weekend, Cold Air Damming (aka The Wedge) will set up over the Appalachian Mountains, and that is going to play into what kind of winter weather we will experience, how much of it and for how long. (1/2) #ATLwx #GAwx pic.twitter.com/vGL6lr4GIH
— Christina Edwards (@ChristinaWSBwx) January 13, 2022
- Potential Impacts:
- -Freezing Rain: From .1″ to .25″ of ice is a “nuisance”, .25″ to .5″ is “disruptive”, .5″+ is “crippling”. As of Wednesday morning, it is too soon to know how much freezing rain accretion we will experience, but it’s something to bear in mind.
- -Sleet: These balls of ice make for slick conditions. Sleet is like Dippin Dots but harder and with no ice cream in it.
- -Snow: Non-treated roads may turn slick with repeated travel (tires melt the snow, which refreezes into ice on the road)
Freezing Rain, Sleet, and Snow are all possibilities Sunday AM through Sunday PM. We thaw out on Monday PM.
— Christina Edwards (@ChristinaWSBwx) January 13, 2022
This model data is from 1am today, we will have new data coming in early this afternoon. #ATLwx #GAwx pic.twitter.com/xMUYWDpKME
If the Atlanta Airport registers snow this weekend, it would break a measurable snowfall drought running 1450+ days.
It has been 1454 days since the last time our Atlanta site has seen measurable snowfall, good enough for the 2nd longest streak on record. Our last measurable snow occurred on January 18th, 2018, nearly 4 years ago. Needless to say, we are watching this weekend closely. #gawx pic.twitter.com/toJvUaDvpY
— NWS Atlanta (@NWSAtlanta) January 11, 2022
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