A winter storm pushed its way across metro Atlanta and north Georgia in late February, leaving the area covered in snow and ice. Upwards of 7 inches of snow were reported in areas in the north Georgia mountains on Feb. 25. Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 50 counties in the northern part of Georgia, and of course, many schools were closed.
NEAR RECORD HIGHS
When it finally warmed up, it got really warm. According to meteorologist Brian Monahan, we saw near record breaking temperatures in June. Nationally, July 2015 was the hottest month on record. And when December came around, it didn't feel much like December. Meteorologist Brad Nitz says temperatures were well above average, but not quite record breaking at the start of the month.
WATCH: Temperatures above average for early December
RAIN, RAIN, RAIN
Not only was it a warm year, it was a wet one. There was plenty of rain at different parts of the year throughout metro Atlanta. The month of April was the wettest since 1979. November got off to a very wet start with 11 straight days of rain in metro Atlanta.
We've had rain for 11 straight days, and 16 of the last 17 days. It's so nice to see the sun shining!
Posted by Brad Nitz on Tuesday, November 10, 2015
EL NINO
One of the possible causes of the wet weather is a strong El Nino. El Nino is when the central and eastern part of Pacific Ocean gets warmer than usual. It could lead to a colder, wetter winter in north Georgia. Nitz says El Nino doesn't mean we will have major severe weather outbreaks or major snow and ice storms, but the atmosphere is more primed for those events to occur. While we are already seeing the effects of El Nino in 2015, we will likely see even more at the start of 2016.
WATCH: El Nino: Impact on Georgia
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