1/10/2025 - KMCN

****SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT***

Due to the wintry conditions expected tomorrow, central GA residents are advised to stay at home and not travel by roadway due to potential icy conditions.

CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS: 

Current temperature as of 1:40 PM is 45 F. There are clear skies over GA, but rain can be observed to our west currently over the southern central region of the United States. This system is expected to bring wintry weather to much of GA on Friday. Winds are currently oscillating between a calm and gentle breeze. 

Forecast for January 10, 2025

A low of 33 F and a high of 41 F is expected, with wintry precipitation possible with rainy conditions in the later hours. 

Friday's calling card will certainly be wintry precipitation as the day unfolds, with varying levels of winter precipitation expected throughout the central-to-north GA regions. The northern portion of the state above Atlanta is slated to see snow, with the big city itself included in the snowy forecast. Snow totals should range between an 1" to 2" for the ATL, and 3" to 6" for the northern most regions of GA. The central GA area will mosty likely see freezing rain or sleet if any wintry precipitation falls at all, although an occasional snow flurry cannot be entirely ruled out. As the day progresses from the morning hours, areas seeing snow can expect to switch over to freezing rain, while areas seeing freezing rain can expect to see rain instead. Between 0.50" - 1.00" of precipitation is expected for Macon, with the system being an all-day event once it starts. 

Scattered to broken cloud coverage can be expected in the early overnight hours, before becoming overcast for the rest of the day. 

Winds are also expected to stay largely calm to light throughout the forecast period, with an increase to moderate speeds as the core of the low pressure system approaches in the evening. Winds should die back down after the core passes however, returning to gentle wind conditions. 

Since Friday is an atypical weather day, I will did not check the MOS predictions.

Forecast data pulled from the GFS, ECMWF, and, NAM.

FORECAST CHECK-IN:

My Forecast: Low: 33 F, High: 41 F, 0.50" - 1.00" of precipitation

Actual Forecast Conditions: Low: 27 F, High: 38 F, 0.52" of precipitation

This day was an interesting forecast due to the possibility of snow, which unfortunately did not occur in the Central GA area. However, a forecasted prediction of 1" - 2" of snow in the ATL turned out to miss the bench mark when a reported 3.75" of snow was recorded instead.

I did state a chance of wintry precipitation in the form of freezing rain, but (at least in my area) there was no freezing rain either. However, the system did move in around 12 PM and lasted all day as expected.

Although my high was in acceptable limits, my low did miss the margin. Conditions cooled a lot more than models were expecting. Although, with the possibility of snow so close by, I definitely should have went lower in anticipation. 

It seems to be a trend that the GFS runs warm on lows, and cold on highs.