How Does Snow Accumulate in Georgia?
January 30, 2026 2026-01-30 13:59How Does Snow Accumulate in Georgia?
by: Kai Payne
Snow in Georgia is a weather phenomenon that occurs statistically every 2-3 years. When snow does arrive in Georgia (specifically Middle and South Georgia) it causes mass shutdowns and awe shocking views that most people don’t get to see. If you’re more interested in how Georgia fights snow back in order to end shutdowns early you can view our previous article “Black Ice Is Lethal: How Georgia Keeps Roads Moving”.
At the time of (01/23/2026) Alpharetta Georgia has not seen any snow so far this Year. IA’s weather specialist and Earth Systems instructor Mr. Weigand stated in an interview
“No, we will not be getting snow this weekend due to Georgia’s unique geological pattern requiring cold Polar air from the North to push down and mix with the moist Gulf air from the south in a way to cause snow.”
Weigand
As of 01/28/2026 Mr. Weigand’s predictions were right and Alpharetta received little to no snow, however was hit with approximately 1-2 inches of ice, causing a shutdown from Sunday morning to Monday evening. FCS closed schools for Monday out of an abundance of caution.
In this winter report for South East Region, specifically Georgia, the Nation Weather Service (Atlanta division) projected on Saturday January 24th (a day after FCS closed all schools). North Georgia was in a Ice Storm Warning, projected to receive upwards of 1 inch, and central Georgia was in a Winter Weather Advisory, projected to receive up to .25 inches of ice
The reason why ice is so devastating in Georgia is due to our road design and the uniqueness of our ice. According to NWS, 1 or more inches of ice is enough to cripple a power grid entirely. North Georgia received roughly 1.75 inches of ice during the winter storm, and a tiny amount of snow (about .1 inches). This impact did cause falling trees and as a consequence knocked out power across millions of homes across the US.
With this in mind this isn’t even the most dangerous part of ice in Georgia – that award goes to the phenomenon called Black Ice, due to Georgia’s relatively warm weather in Winter, when it gets called our roads still receive pretty direct sunlight meaning the asphalt streets can be upwards of 40 degrees hotter then the outside temperature. When the cold rain falls it lands on the roads, and cools it due to the temperature of the water being almost freezing, after enough rain. The roads will begin to cool down and the water will freeze, however since the sunshine doesn’t stop during the day, the ice melts. But, it will eventually refreeze, causing an almost perfectly transparent sheet of ice covering the whole road, and being so thin you almost cant see it even when separated from the road. This is what causes ice and snow to be so dangerous in Georgia, even when snow plows clear streets and neighborhoods it still isn’t guaranteed to be safe due to the black ice. Georgia’s response to ice and snow is usually just waiting, since they know they cant remove the ice, so they wait for the heat to get to it and this usually takes 1-3 days to complete.
You’re probably asking yourself “Well people in the North also get ice on their roads, and it isn’t that dangerous, what’s the issue for us? Cant we just ice equip our tires?”. Well sadly it is actually a crime in Georgia to operate your vehicle with chains, defined under Title 40, “Georgia Law Code § 40-8-74”. The only exemptions to this rule is farm vehicles, CMV’s, and emergency vehicles. This law was implemented due to the fact chains physically damage the roads of Georgia the way the roads are designed, unlike the Northern roads.
As a reminder for future snow events always keep in touch with local weather authorities and ensure to tune into your LOCAL news stations (National, or Regional news stations may not provided information about your state or area, unlike your local station).
