UNDATED - Temperatures are expected to return to normal across north Georgia by the end of the week... following the coldest stretch of weather in the region in ten years.
You have to go back to January 2000 to find such an extended spell of unusually cold weather in North Georgia.
That one lasted eleven days... a produced an average low of 18.5 degrees in Gainesville with an average high of 36.
This year, during the nine days from January 2 through January 10, the average high was 34 and the average low 18... both about 20 degrees below normal for this time of the year.
And, the wind was a big factor, as well. Wind gusts of 20 mph or more were recorded on eight of those nine days at Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport, meaning wind chills in the single-digits were common at times during the cold spell.
But temperatures in much of North Georgia are expected to rise into the 40s Monday (for the first time since New Year's Day) and get in the 50s by late in the week.
As if the unseasonably cold wasn't enough, snow arrived on Thursday and many roads were still iced-over Monday morning.
Karlene Barron, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Transportation, says that GDOT trucks and crews spent the weekend sanding and salting secondary routes.
Many schools in North Georgia were closed again Monday for the second straight day because of icy roads. (See separate posting.)
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)
Friday
June 27th, 2025
10:09PM
