2005 Gwinnett Weather In Review
It’s that time of year when the papers and TV stations do their Year in Review articles. I thought I’d take a look at the major weather events that affected metro Atlanta and Gwinnett County during 2005:
1. January 29th Ice Storm — A combination of sleet and freezing rain hit metro Atlanta the weekend of January 28th and 29th. The storm began with sleet on Saturday, and turned to freezing rain overnight Sunday morning. The icy mess made travel nearly impossible, however by the time the work week started on Monday, the worst was over.
2. Cindy’s Tornadoes Damage Atlanta Motor Speedway — The remnants of Hurricane Cindy came through metro Atlanta on July 6th, causing six tornadoes in the Atlanta area, along with plenty of rain. Hardest hit was Henry County, and Atlanta Motor Speedway, which was severely damaged.
3. Easter Storm Dumps Over 3 Inches of Rain — On March 27th, a storm brought hail and severe thunderstorms to much of Georgia, along with plenty of rainfall. Atlanta recorded 2.92 inches of rain; here in Lawrenceville, I recorded 3.09 inches of rain, one of only 15 times in the last ten years that that much rain fell in one day.
4. Katrina Brings Record Tornadoes to Georgia — A record 18 tornadoes were spawned by Hurricane Katrina on August 29th. This is the highest tornado count ever for August in Georgia. The metro Atlanta core counties were spared, however F2 tornadoes were reported in Carroll, Peach and White counties.
5. Record July/August Rainfall — The effects of the record hurricane year were felt throughout July and August, as Atlanta recorded its second wettest July ever, and the wettest June-August total rainfall, with 25.82 inches of rain. Columbus and Athens also recorded top five summer precipitation records.
6. Dry September and October — In contrast to the wet summer, the early fall months brought record dry spells to North Georgia. Atlanta recorded its second driest September ever, with only 0.06 inches of recorded precipitation. With the exception of the rain brought in by tropical storm Tammy, the dry weather continued through mid November.
7. December 15th Ice Storm — Gwinnett and northeast Georgia got hit with an unusual December ice storm on the 15th. While the area’s coldest month is usually January, Atlanta, along with most of the East Coast experienced much colder than normal weather for most of the month.
8. BellSouth Classic Gets Hit By Sleet and Snow — The poor folks at the BellSouth Classic couldn’t get a break this year, as play was cancelled on Thursday and Friday, and then a surprise sleet and snowstorm hit on Saturday, forcing play to be suspended for an hour and a half. Snow was also reported in Grayson and Dacula on April 2nd.
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