North Georgia mountains get final snow blast in fickle winter weather

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Posted 9:03AM on Monday, January 7, 2002

Mother Nature can't seem to make up her mind. Rain and warmer temperatures have driven the snowflakes from most of Georgia, which saw more snow this week than it has in nearly nine years. But in the north Georgia mountains, it's hard to tell whether the snow's coming or going. The National Weather Service said parts of northeast Georgia received up to 4 inches of snow early Sunday, followed by sleet and then rain and the prospect of more flurries in some spots. Forecasters are calling for scattered snow showers with some accumulation Sunday in northeast Georgia and flurries along the Tennessee border and residents again are raiding groceries for staples such as bread, beer and milk. ``We got it restocked (Saturday), and they're picking it up again because we're hearing that we're getting more snow tonight,'' said Julia Pattison, assistant manager of Royal Food Store No. 25 in Clayton. The northern half of the state has a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of snow flurries through Monday, although it's not expected to pile up as it did last week, the weather service said. Parts of Georgia received up to 8 inches Wednesday and Thursday. Pattison said areas around the county received about 5 inches of snow last week and she had another inch Saturday night at her Rabun County home. Georgia's most northeastern county also is home to the state's only ski resort, where employees said the snow attracts daytrippers from as far as Florida. ``People will watch the weather and see where the southernmost snow is, and they'll drive up there from south Georgia or north Florida,'' said Lewis Lane, a ski resort employee. ``As soon as word gets out that we'll have snow, I'd say it immediately doubles, the number of phone calls we get.'' Lane said the snow's timing right after the winter holidays and before some schools resumed classes helped business boom. Sky Valley had 800 to 1,000 skiers Saturday and about 600 on Friday and Sunday up from an average of 300 to 400 on non-holiday, non-snow days, Lane said. But Georgia's snow will quickly become only a memory, forecasters say. The seven-day forecast doesn't include snow or ice after Monday, weather service meteorologist Kent McMullen said.