ATLANTA — The Winter Storm Warning has been expanded and now includes metro Atlanta. A Winter Weather Advisory now includes additional counties.
The winter storm warning areas have the potential to see up to 2-4 inches of snow. The winter weather advisory areas have the potential to see up to 1-2 inches of snow.
Severe Weather Team 2 takes you through the latest timeline and impacts, LIVE on Channel 2 Action News starting at 4:00 p.m.
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ADVISORY VS WARNING
The winter storm warning is in effect Friday night through Sunday morning for:
Banks, Barrow, Butts, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Dawson, DeKalb, Elbert, Fannin, Forsyth, Franklin, North Fulton, South Fulton, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Lumpkin, Madison, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Putnam, Rabun, Rockdale, Stephens, Towns, Union, Walton, White.
The winter weather advisory is in effect for: Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Carroll, Catoosa, Coweta, Crawford, Dade, Dodge, Douglas, Fayette, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Heard, Houston, Jasper, Lamar, Meriwether, Monroe, Montgomery, Murray, Newton, Paulding, Peach, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Spalding, Telfair, Toombs, Troup, Upson, Walker, Wheeler and Whitfield counties.
What’s the difference? A Winter Weather Advisory may be issued if enough winter precipitation will become inconvenient and cause traffic issues across north Georgia.
A Winter Storm Warning means it will be a significant winter weather event. Travel may become impossible in some situations.
TIMING
Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Ashley Kramlich says the arctic cold air will move in tonight while an area of low pressure slides over Georgia early Saturday into Saturday afternoon.
This will spin up snow showers, especially the eastern suburbs to the Georgia-South Carolina state line.
Snow will move into the mountains around midnight tonight and expand southward, reaching metro Atlanta around sunrise.
The snow will come to an end Saturday afternoon and then the coldest air of the season settles in.
HOW MUCH SNOW
The further east you go, the more snow you are likely to see. Snowfall totals between 2-4 inches are expected in the winter storm warning areas and 1-2 inches in the advisory areas.
It won’t take much liquid to produce accumulating snow because the air will be so cold. This will be a dry snow -- like a powdery, ski type of snow instead of the wet, snowball snow we usually see in Georgia.
Any snow that falls is expected to rapidly stick to roads and other surfaces due to temperatures in the 20s, making them slick. Gusty winds up to 35 mph could result in areas of blowing snow and poor visibility.
Northeastern areas of Georgia, including Athens, Gainesville and Blairsville and areas east of them, will see 2-4 inches of snow with isolated spots seeing higher amounts.
The metro Atlanta area can expect 1-2 inches of snow with isolated areas getting more. Snow showers will be more scattered for areas west of I-75 approximately.
Western Georgia will get between trace amounts to 2 inches, with lower accumulation amounts for areas south of I-20 approximately.
WIND CHILL CONCERNS
Wind chills will remain in the teens and high temperatures will not get above freezing.
By Sunday morning, wind chills will be as low as -10 in the mountains and in the single digits across the metro. An extreme cold watch is in effect.
Temperatures will remain below freezing for at least 48 hours. Some locations could remain below freezing for up to 60 hours. There will be a risk of frozen pipes and subsequently pipes bursting as temperatures return to the 40s next week.
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