Rare Snowfall For Florida, Central Georgia
After days of building up and tearing down expectations, snowflakes are falling as far south as north Florida this weekend.
Winter weather advisories have been updated to include a piece of the far northern portion of Florida and remain for much of central Georgia.
Some advisories across central Georgia have been updated to winter storm warnings, where 1-3 inches of snowfall is possible.
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This snow is connected to a new storm system that is trying to crank up along the East Coast, which is bringing a little snowfall, or at least a wintry mix, to parts of the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and the major cities of the Northeast.
What You Should Know:
– Lighter snow will occur across parts of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic on Sunday
– Central Georgia is where the heaviest snowfall is expected
– Another strong, cold front will drop temperatures for much of the East through Sunday
– Most areas outside of the Appalachians will see conversational flurries to up to 1 inch, if snow falls at all. This is not expected to be a widely disruptive snowstorm.
– Regardless of snowfall, cold air is expected across the South. Be prepared to protect your pipes, plants and pets
– Storm will likely move north along the East Coast, potentially bringing snowfall to major cities in the Northeast
– You should check back multiple times a day to see how this forecast changes
Deeper Dive: What’s Going On?
A disturbance is likely to develop in the northeastern Gulf by late Saturday, then move north up the East Coast through Sunday. This will lead to mainly rain, with the possibility of some snow, on Sunday.
With the moisture already in place over the Southeast set to interact with the new shot of cold air, it is increasingly likely that some flakes will fall on the backside of this storm system from north Florida to New England on Sunday.
While for most, this will be more of a conversational or nuisance event, there may be enough snow to cause travel issues in parts of Georgia or Alabama, as noted in the blue color on the map below. Those in this region could see slippery roads and bridges.
The dark blue areas on the map below are where winter storm warnings are in effect, which is where the heaviest snowfall is forecast at this time.
As you can see on the graphic below, there is a lot of wiggle room in this forecast between paltry snowfall over 3 inches.
Outside of the Appalachians, our forecast, so far, has been for less than an inch of snow across the Southeast and mid-Atlantic. Some heavier snow is possible for New York City and Boston, which will be discussed in more detail below.
The Ingredients
The one thing we do have that is typically lacking from southern events is plentiful cold air. Frequent rounds of cold air enhance the chance of precipitation falling as anything but rain as the ground stays colder longer.
While this cold air may not penetrate as far south as previous surges, it will bring overnight temperatures down into the teens, 20s and 30s nearly down to the Gulf Coast. Monday morning will be even chillier than Sunday morning, especially along the Atlantic coast and into Florida.
Snowfall For Northeast
This coastal low will try to get its act together and is expected to move north along the East Coast Sunday. With the cold air in place across the East, this means you are more likely to see snow in cities like New York City and Boston.
Snow totals are not expected to be substantial, with 1-3 inches being the most likely. Despite totals not being very high, blowing snow and increased traffic due to the long weekend means you may want to take delays into consideration.
Interesting to note that cities like New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Boston are experiencing snow deficits this year. Boston, in particular, is over 10 inches below where it should be, so any new snowfall will help to chip away at these deficits.
With plentiful cold air present, moisture associated with a coastal low will likely fall as snow for the major cities of the Northeast.
Jonathan Belles has been a digital meteorologist for weather.com for 9 years and also assists in the production of videos for The Weather Channel en español. His favorite weather is tropical weather, but also enjoys covering high-impact weather and news stories and winter storms. He’s a two-time graduate of Florida State University and a proud graduate of St. Petersburg College.