Storm Encyclopedia

Winter Watches and Warnings Winter Climatology Winter Weather Safety
Forecasting Winter Storms How Winter Storms Form Types of Winter Storms
Winter Precipitation

Ice Storms
The Deep South only experiences winter storms a few times during a typical winter.

Southeastern snow or ice storms often form when an area of low pressure moves eastward across the northern Gulf of Mexico. When this happens, cities like Jackson, Mississippi, Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta, Georgia, find themselves on the cold side of the storm.

On January 7 and 8, 1973, Atlanta and areas of north Georgia were hard hit by one to four inches of ice that closed schools and left 300,000 people without power for up to a week. Over 2.25 inches of liquid equivalent in the form of freezing rain, sleet, and snow fell on Atlanta between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. on January 7, while temperatures remained at 32Â°F.

To produce a significant winter storm in the Deep South, not only must temperatures be cold enough, but there must also be enough moisture in the atmosphere to produce adequate precipitation.

Though it may be cold enough in Jackson, Birmingham, or Atlanta for frozen precipitation to fall, if the low pressure system passes too far south of these cities, there will not be enough moisture to produce wintry precipitation.

Other Types Of Winter Storms
Blizzards Lake Effect Overrunning
Eastern Rockies Nor'easter Great Plains
Ice Storms Pacific Coast Upsloping