ATLANTA — With temperatures below freezing overnight, the dreaded "S" word has crept into the forecast for portions of far north Georgia for late Monday night and early Tuesday.
There is no need to panic, however. Only a cold rain is expected much closer to Atlanta, which will make for a sloppy rush hour Tuesday morning as some of the coldest air of the season, so far, is moving toward Georgia out of Canada.
According to 11Alive Chief Meteorologist Chris Holcomb, a strong cold front will move across the state early Tuesday morning. Widespread showers will accompany the front as it moves through the region.
Behind the front, temperatures are expected to drop dramatically, bringing with it some of the coldest weather so far this season.
Sunny skies return to the area by late Tuesday afternoon and the weather is expected to gradually moderate through the rest of the week.
Tonight
Chris says that the cold front will move through the region after midnight, bringing widespread showers to the area.
As temperatures rapidly fall behind the front, the showers could briefly transition to a wintry mix of sleet and snow over portions of far north Georgia.
Low temperatures are expected to remain in the mid-30s across much of the region.
Tuesday
While any wintry precipitation will come to a quick end through the mid-morning hours on Tuesday, very light accumulations from a trace up to perhaps a quarter-inch in the higher elevations of the North Georgia Mountains are possible.
This is most likely in Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Whitfield, Murray, Fannin, Gilmer, Union, Towns, Chattooga, Gordon, Pickens, Dawson, Lumpkin, White and Floyd counties.
In addition, any lingering moisture on roadways throughout the region could create patchy slick spots and black ice as temperatures fall to freezing. Caution is advised, especially in higher elevations.
Any precipitation will move out of the area by noon on Tuesday, with sunshine returning across the region. But the high temperatures on Tuesday will struggle to get into the low 40s.
Winds behind the cold front will increase. A Wind Advisory has been issued for all of metro Atlanta through 7 p.m. Tuesday. Northwesterly winds of 10-to-20 mph with gusts of up to 35 mph are expected.
Some trees and tree limbs may be knocked down by the strong winds. Everyone is advised to secure any loose objects they may have around their homes.
As a result of the strong winds, wind chills are expected to remain in the 20s through much of the day on Tuesday.
Tuesday night
The winds will fall off Tuesday night, but so will the temperatures. Low temperatures in the city of Atlanta are expected to get down to the mid-20s, and even lower in the North Georgia Mountains.
Wind chills by Wednesday morning will fall into the mid-teens across all of north Georgia.
A Freeze Watch has been issued for Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. This will likely be upgraded to a Freeze Warning.
Freezing conditions will kill any sensitive outdoor vegetation, crops and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Bring any tender plants indoors. Bring pets inside. Those with outdoor water pipes should make sure they are wrapped, drained or allowed to drip slowly.
Those with in-ground sprinkler systems should drain them and cover above-ground pipes to protect them from freezing.
Anyone with pipes on outer-facing walls of their homes is advised to allow those faucets to drip slowly to protect them from freezing.
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