Atlanta will not see snow this weekend, according to the National Weather Service. The city will get its coldest air of the season so far, though. After highs near 71 degrees Tuesday and today, a late-week cold front will drop Saturday’s high to about 53. Sunday morning lows will fall to around 33 in the city and into the 20s in the North Georgia mountains.
The Atlanta snow talk spreading online is mostly about somewhere else. Forecasters say those posts focus on the higher peaks of the southern Appalachians, especially western North Carolina. Even at North Georgia’s highest elevations, the weather service puts the chance of frozen precipitation below 5%. The metro forecast stays dry.
Will it snow in Atlanta this weekend?
No. A weak nor’easter forming off the East Coast will pull cold air deep into the South, but not enough moisture will reach Georgia to produce snow. The Weather Channel lists the Appalachians from West Virginia to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee among the places with the best shot at wet, slushy snow from Thursday through Saturday.
Georgia’s only real precipitation chance comes earlier. A few showers could move through far North Georgia tonight into Thursday, ahead of two cold fronts that will bring in the chill. The weekend itself looks sunny, dry and cold.
Why is Atlanta snow talk spreading so fast?
Atlanta has earned its weather anxiety. The city still talks about the 2014 snowstorm that left drivers stranded overnight on frozen interstates. This year added fresh memories. In late January, the weather service expanded a winter storm watch to cover metro Atlanta for a second straight weekend of winter weather, this time with snow forecast instead of ice…