An Alberta Clipper System made its way through North Georgia and Metro Atlanta Monday night, bringing wintry precipitation to the Peach State the evening after Christmas.
An Alberta Clipper system is a fast-moving low pressure system that develops in Alberta, Canada, and quickly moves through the United States. They “clip” through the United States within 24 to 48 hours, bringing a reinforcing blast of freezing cold air and sometimes nuisance precipitation.
Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta registered 0.1 inch of snowfall Monday evening, tying the daily record snowfall for the day since December 26, 2010.
Usually, an Alberta Clipper system moves through the Great Lakes region on its way to the Northeast, but there are times where the Clipper will move further south into the Central US and eventually into the Southeast.
Alberta Clipper Systems are usually very cold and very dry, though they are able to tap into residual moisture in the region it moves through, allowing for light snow showers or wintry mix to form. Not much precipitation falls from clipper systems, but it may be enough to cause nuisance impacts, including slick roadways.
WSB Radio’s Sandra Parrish reported as much as 0.75 inches of snow in Ellijay.
Below are additional snowfall reports from around North Georgia and Metro Atlanta.