The first three weeks of January have brought a batch of unusual weather to metro Atlanta and North Georgia, seemingly to make fun of early-season forecasts, which called for a warmer than normal and drier than normal Winter.  But, if you look at things more closely, we may not be that far off from the original prediction.

The month started out with a cold blast, getting as low as 16.5 degrees on the third, the lowest temperature of the month. Four days later, the temperature topped 70 degrees on the 7th, the warmest day of a five day streak when highs were above 60, at least ten degrees above normal.  After a few days of more or less normal temperatures, we again saw a plunge over the weekend, when the thermometer refused to budge over 32 degrees on Sunday–that’s the second time this year that’s happened.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta area saw some light snow and sleet last Thursday, and got an inch or so on Saturday, depending on where you were.  Due to the cold weather, some of that snow is still on the ground, at least where I live.  And, the Weather Service as posted a Freezing Rain advisory for much of the state north of Atlanta, including Hall County, for tomorrow morning, as another storm prepares to roll in.  Three wintry precipitation events in a week seem like a lot.

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The rain that fell on North Georgia yesterday gave way to winter-like conditions on Sunday, with gusty winds, and even some snow flurries reported as far south as Lawrenceville. Yesterday’s predicted rainfall didn’t meet NWS estimates, with just over an inch of rain in Atlanta, and 1.25 inches here in Lawrenceville.

As the front passed following the rain, temperatures dropped, and the winds picked up. This is one case where I regret that my weather station is located at the bottom of a hill in a woody area — I don’t get accurate wind gauge readings. While I recorded wind speeds as high as 17 MPH, I’m sure that they were much higher, judging what I saw with the swaying trees, and debris on the ground.

While Atlantans may by ruing the second winter-like weekend in a row, the storm that came through yesterday is now causing major problems in the Northeast. The Syracuse area is expecting up to a foot of snow overnight, and the winds that have affected us will cause whiteout conditions throughout much of New England over the next day or two.

Meanwhile, closer to the Atlantic, they are expecting floods and high winds in Boston, and in Maine, they have already had more than a foot of snow, with more expected.

I’ve mentioned to some folks I’ve talked to that March and April seem to have been reversed this year, and it looks like that will hold true for the rest of the month. We’re likely to see low temperatures in the 40s for at least the next week or so, with normal lows around 50.

There may be good news on the way, however. The 6-10 day and 8-14 day long range outlooks issued today call for above normal temperatures and rainfall for Georgia. However, the weekend outlooks are computer generated, and don’t reflect the experience of the weather service forecasters. It will be interesting to see if the same outlook holds true Monday, when the humans are back at work.