history
1 Year Ago...
03/14/2009 12:19
I was sitting on my couch catching up on episodes of LOST (which I've unfortunately gotten sucked into)... saw a flash of lightening in the distance and immediately had a strange feeling. I didn't recall that we were supposed to have severe weather until the next day... but that feeling in my gut stayed with me.
I started following the storm on radar as the lightening became really intense. I saw the velocity couplet and knew things were about to get interesting. Being the sensible person I am, I went outside!
The air was disconcertingly still. Just lots of lightening and thunder... no rain... no wind... nothing. Suddenly very large hail started to fall. The air continued to feel unnaturally still. Not good.
Then came the roar above. It sounded like it was really windy high above the trees, but nothing at ground level yet. It got louder and the tops of the trees started to really move. Intense and very scary... I knew what was happening. I just felt it in my gut. Curiosity and awe kept me frozen in place.
I live in a 1940's bungalow with no basement (no foundation built on piles). My center hallway closet was probably the best place to be, but I didn't go there. I just stood with my kitchen door open, watching everything going on outside. I just couldn't move.
The tornado touched down just two miles south of my location.
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I keep a running history of notable weather events for Atlanta and update/add information often.
You can find the entry (including more pictures and videos) for the 2008 Atlanta Tornado here:
http://atlwx.com/wxhistory/files/20080314-atlanta_tornado.html
16 Years Ago...
03/13/2009 12:06
Atlanta was a different place 16 years ago today. I remember standing on the North Ave. bridge looking out at the barren, white ribbon beneath me that was the "downtown connector". Hearing the wind howling through the Bank of America tower. I was part of a group of hungry Georgia Tech undergrads that were devastated to find the Varsity closed. As we walked back toward campus into the howling north-west winds and heavy SNOW that felt like pieces of sand ripping my face off, I thought I was going to die.
I went to bed the previous night, hearing and believing that it was going to SNOW. It was the weekend before finals and I had crashed on a friend's couch in a dorm at Tech. I woke up sometime before dawn to go to the bathroom. I recall seeing a couple of flashes of lightning in the window and thinking to myself "guess it isn't SNOWING yet"...
As I walked to the bathroom down the hall, I passed the glass, front doors of the dorm. I just about fainted. There was SNOW on the ground that was suddenly illuminated by another flash of lightning! The bathroom would wait. I ran down the hall and grabbed my coat, woke a few folks up and dashed outside.
I was immediately treated to another flash of lightning and then the craziest sound I have ever heard. The muffled rumble of thunder across a completely white landscape. I think I literally cried. This was unlike any weather I had ever experienced before.
* * *
The "Blizzard of '93" is also known as the "March Superstorm" and the "Storm of the Century". Atlanta officially received only 4 inches of SNOW. It was more like 6-7 inches in midtown Atlanta and increased dramatically as you went north.
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Other Personal Accounts, Links & Blogs:
Remembering the "Blizzard of 1993" (NWS - Birmingham Office):
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/significant_events/1993/Blizzard_of_1993/index.php
National Climatic Data Center - Technical Report:
ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/techrpts/tr9301/tr9301.pdf
"A Storm For the Ages" by Daniel L (NWS):
http://nsstc.uah.edu/cwb/?p=1332
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James Spann's Coverage (Alabama)
Weather Channel Coverage
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I keep a running history of notable weather events for Atlanta and update/add information often.
You can find the entry for the Blizzard of '93 here:
http://atlwx.com/wxhistory/files/19930313-blizzard_93.html
I went to bed the previous night, hearing and believing that it was going to SNOW. It was the weekend before finals and I had crashed on a friend's couch in a dorm at Tech. I woke up sometime before dawn to go to the bathroom. I recall seeing a couple of flashes of lightning in the window and thinking to myself "guess it isn't SNOWING yet"...
As I walked to the bathroom down the hall, I passed the glass, front doors of the dorm. I just about fainted. There was SNOW on the ground that was suddenly illuminated by another flash of lightning! The bathroom would wait. I ran down the hall and grabbed my coat, woke a few folks up and dashed outside.
I was immediately treated to another flash of lightning and then the craziest sound I have ever heard. The muffled rumble of thunder across a completely white landscape. I think I literally cried. This was unlike any weather I had ever experienced before.
* * *
The "Blizzard of '93" is also known as the "March Superstorm" and the "Storm of the Century". Atlanta officially received only 4 inches of SNOW. It was more like 6-7 inches in midtown Atlanta and increased dramatically as you went north.
* * *
Other Personal Accounts, Links & Blogs:
Remembering the "Blizzard of 1993" (NWS - Birmingham Office):
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/bmx/significant_events/1993/Blizzard_of_1993/index.php
National Climatic Data Center - Technical Report:
ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/techrpts/tr9301/tr9301.pdf
"A Storm For the Ages" by Daniel L (NWS):
http://nsstc.uah.edu/cwb/?p=1332
* * *
Weather Channel Coverage
* * *
I keep a running history of notable weather events for Atlanta and update/add information often.
You can find the entry for the Blizzard of '93 here:
http://atlwx.com/wxhistory/files/19930313-blizzard_93.html
Added A New Section To Site
03/06/2009 11:33
I added a new section to the site: Atlanta Weather History
This section will focus on significant weather events in Atlanta. It is done in a "blog" style. You should be able to click the categories/tags on the right for specific years, months, or type of event. I plan to add and update content on a regular basis.
If you have any suggestions or ideas for events, please scroll to the bottom of this page and click "Contact Me" to send an email.
This section will focus on significant weather events in Atlanta. It is done in a "blog" style. You should be able to click the categories/tags on the right for specific years, months, or type of event. I plan to add and update content on a regular basis.
If you have any suggestions or ideas for events, please scroll to the bottom of this page and click "Contact Me" to send an email.
Whatever Happened To Wintertime Gulf Lows?
02/15/2009 23:27
Most substantial snowfalls for Atlanta are associated with storm systems that form in and track along the northern Gulf of Mexico. These SNOW producing Gulf lows were more common back in the 80’s into the early 90’s. (It really did SNOW more when I was a kid!)
Significant SNOW producing storms for Atlanta generally fall into two different categories.
1.) The first type (and best since the SNOW actually sticks) forms after a significant arctic front moves through. The storm develops on the stalled boundary of the arctic air in the gulf and tracks toward the NE. With this type of storm, the coverage of SNOW can be across a fairly large area.
SNOW JAM ’82
I was just a little boy when this happened, and I don’t remember much about it. However, I have heard the stories for as long as I can remember. Heavy SNOW started falling just before rush hour on Tuesday, January 12, 1982. Many commuters who started home never made it with their vehicles. Some were forced to stay the night at their place of work. Cold air was definitely in place for this event. The previous two days saw lows BELOW ZERO! I don’t think it gets anymore Winter than this...
I-85 and Peachtree Road (Amtrak Station) - Atlanta Snow Jam ’82
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2.) The second type is a cold core upper level low. This type of storm can pull in cold air from the upper atmosphere and advect to the surface. The SNOW can be very heavy with this type but is generally confined to a very narrow band. It is also interesting to note that with ULL’s it can be fairly warm at the surface (well into the 40’s) and still SNOW.
LATE SEASON SNOW - MARCH 1983
A cold core low dumped 8 inches of SNOW on Atlanta on March 24, 1983. The band was very narrow, but Atlanta wound up in the bulls-eye!
Of course the “Gulf Low to End All Lows” was the “Super Storm” of 1993. I remember the “Storm of the Century” very well, but I’ll save that for a post next month (near the anniversary).
The pattern of the last decade(+) has not favored SNOW storms. I hope to do a future post on the cause of this, and if there is any hope that this horrible pattern will end.
Here’s to the return of the Wintertime Gulf Low!!!
Significant SNOW producing storms for Atlanta generally fall into two different categories.
1.) The first type (and best since the SNOW actually sticks) forms after a significant arctic front moves through. The storm develops on the stalled boundary of the arctic air in the gulf and tracks toward the NE. With this type of storm, the coverage of SNOW can be across a fairly large area.
SNOW JAM ’82
I-85 and Peachtree Road (Amtrak Station) - Atlanta Snow Jam ’82
* * *
2.) The second type is a cold core upper level low. This type of storm can pull in cold air from the upper atmosphere and advect to the surface. The SNOW can be very heavy with this type but is generally confined to a very narrow band. It is also interesting to note that with ULL’s it can be fairly warm at the surface (well into the 40’s) and still SNOW.
LATE SEASON SNOW - MARCH 1983
A cold core low dumped 8 inches of SNOW on Atlanta on March 24, 1983. The band was very narrow, but Atlanta wound up in the bulls-eye!
Of course the “Gulf Low to End All Lows” was the “Super Storm” of 1993. I remember the “Storm of the Century” very well, but I’ll save that for a post next month (near the anniversary).
The pattern of the last decade(+) has not favored SNOW storms. I hope to do a future post on the cause of this, and if there is any hope that this horrible pattern will end.
Here’s to the return of the Wintertime Gulf Low!!!