Top 21 Atlanta Snowfalls

Original data Courtesy of the late Chris Robbins

Top 21 Atlanta Snows | Top 10 GA Snow and Miller A and B Storms | Ranking of the Coldest Winters

Top 21 Atlanta Snowfalls

EDIT: I found the Janaury 3, 2002 snow and inserted it into Chris's list to make it the Top 21.

The list below, was compiled by the late Chris Robbins. The point the Chris was trying to drive home, is that it doesn't have to be cold or even below freezing before a snowstorm, in order for the snow to stick. Some of the best snow events started off warm. The list contians the top 21 sleet or snow events that have impacted the Atlanta metro area. The list also show the average temperature 5 days before, the high temperature the day before and the day of the event.

You'll notice that there doesn't have to be any cold air in place before the system arrives, and it's often above freezing when the event starts. So the next time some one says "it's too warm to snow", just smile.

Sufficient conditions for snow or sleet to accumulate:

  • The temperature of surfaces upon which the precipitation falls must be subfreezing;
  • If surfaces are above freezing, the precipitation rate must exceed the melt rate;
  • Melting snow/sleet can cause the temperature of surface to drop rapidly due to the latent heat of melting (very efficient)

What about freezing rain?

This discussion is about the efficiency of snow and sleet to cool the ground due to the latent heat of melting. Rain is less efficient at cooling surfaces than snow or sleet, because the latent heat of melting is absent; furthermore, the freezing of water releases latent heat which can cause a sensible increase in air temperature (i.e., freezing rain is a self-limiting process). If raindrops are super-cooled, they can certainly cause surface temperatures to drop; oftentimes rain drops are not super-cooled because they have passed through a deep warm layer aloft.


Duration of warm spell?

Preliminary results find NO correlation between the capacity for snow/sleet accumulation following a warm period and the duration of the warm period itself. The same result is achieved irrespective of duration, whether the warm period was a month or just a week; the critical factors are the surface temperature, the specific heat capacity of various surface materials, and the other factors listed above.
For more information, click here and here.


Link to 500mb and temperature anomalies for the top 21 Atlanta Snowfalls | Link to the a study of the 28 Winters with Below Normal Temperatures Since 1950 | Top 10 Coldest Winters, by Month and Season


Top 21 Atlanta Snowfall Events
Date DJF Rank Snow Rank Acc in Inches Temp
5 Days
Before		 High Temp Day Before High Temp
Day of		 Impacts Jan Feb Mar
Tuesday, January 23, 1940 3 1 8.3 35.0 35.0 36.0 Historic Cold Wave; Record Snow 8.3    
Thursday, March 24, 1983   2 7.9 52.0 51.0 47.0 Significant late-March snow event     7.9
Thursday, January 30, 1936 8 3 6.0 33.0 33.0 32.0 Bitterly Cold 6.0    
Saturday, January 18, 1992   4 5.0 49.0 37.0 43.0 Classic Deep South snow surprise 5.0    
Thursday, January 3, 2002   5 4.6 38.0 35.0 35.0 Largest snow since 1993 Miller B 4.6    
Thursday, January 7, 1988 27 6 4.2 41.0 38.0 32.0 Georgia Snow - Sleet 4.2    
Saturday, March 13, 1993   7 4.2 70.0 55.0 38.0 Storm of The Century '93     4.2
Sunday, March 1, 2009   8 4.2 61.0 61.0 52.0 Largest snow event since 2002     4.2
Tuesday, January 12, 1982 6 9 4.0 47.0 24.0 26.0 Snow Jam 1 - 1982 4.0    
Sunday, February 18, 1979 7 10 4.0 62.0 62.0 28.0 Sleet   4.0  
Saturday, February 10, 1934   11 4.0 56.0 62.0 23.0 10.2" for the season   4.0  
Friday, March 11, 1960   12 4.0 40.0 40.0 41.0 Part of 3 "Wednesday Snow"     4.0
Tuesday, February 26, 1952   13 3.9 53.0 45.0 48.0     3.9  
Monday, March 2, 1942   14 3.7 40.0 47.0 43.0       3.7
Sunday, January 9, 2011 9 15 3.7 49.0 59.0 34.0 Best snow in memory 3.7    
Thursday, January 22, 1987   16 3.6 43.0 40.0 37.0 January 1987 Snowstorm 3.6    
Friday, February 12, 2010 5 17 3.6 47.0 36.0 38.0 North and central GA Snow   3.6  
Tuesday, January 9, 1962   18 3.5 60.0 41.0 41.0 Mostly cold 3.5    
Saturday, February 15, 1958 13 19 2.7 38.0 48.0 42.0     2.7  
Sunday, March 2, 1980 16 20 2.7 61.0 50.0 27.0 Mostly a Carolina storm     2.7
Tuesday, January 28, 2014 23 21 2.6 49.0 61.0 30.0 Snowmageddon 2.6    
    Avg: 4.3 48.8 45.7 36.8 Average Snowfall per Month: 4.6 3.6 4.5
    Max: 8.3 70.0 62.0 52.0 Median Snowfall per Month: 4.1 3.9 4.1
    Min: 2.6 33.0 24.0 23.0 Events per Month: 10 5 6
Original data collected by the late Chris Robbins