When was the last time it snowed on Christmas day in north Georgia?

Answer 1

Early morning Christmas Day, Saturday, December 25, 2010, was not much of a surprise to those who live in Atlanta, Georgia and points north, east and west of the major metropolitan city. Santa had come and gone with his reindeer and sleigh and the presents were under the trees and the stockings that were hanging over the fireplaces were full of candy and other nice little "stuffers."

Once the kids came running into their parents rooms early in the morning, they were ready to do whatever they could to stir them awake so that they can head for the Christmas tree and start tearing up the beautiful Christmas wrapping and find out what Santa did bring them for this greatest time of year of joy, smiles and reflections and more. Speaking of more, the Atlanta area did get much more than it bargained for on this Christmas day, Saturday, December 25, 2010. The last time that Christmas Day became a white event in Atlanta was nearly 130 years before, in 1881.

No, it was not a white sale at a local retail store. It was actually the white, wet stuff that falls gracefully from the skies above. It was snow and there was plenty of it from the mountains of North Georgia to the City of Atlanta. Some areas, like the mountains got close to or more than a half a foot of snow while other areas closer to the City of Atlanta got a couple of inches or more.

The temperatures after the noon hour and nearing 4pm hovered closed to freezing while the moisture met the cold temperatures. Sometime around 1pm, it began as rain and then there were small amounts of snow mixed in before it turned completely over to all snow. The snow itself began to accumulate first on the trees and the grass and rooftops but there was no immediate sign that there was going to be accumulation on the streets. Then, before sundown, the snow began to get heavier and began to accumulate on the streets.

This snow event was nothing short of being extremely beautiful and making children of all ages feel all warm and cozy inside. That is until they decided that it was time to get out the sleds and the toboggans and the plastic bags and then head out to any hills they could find to slide down.

There was one area in particular where some children and their accompanying parents could be seen sliding down the hills and this was off of Henderson Mill Road in Atlanta. In the front of Henderson Middle School there are some steep grassy hills and they were covered with snow. This made for some great sledding.

There was still some lingering snow showers on Sunday, December 26, 2010 and the temperatures remained well below freezing so much of the snow that had already fallen lingered.

What was nice about this early winter surprise was that the roads themselves did not get too bad around the Atlanta area. However, some of the roads north did stay snowed over and some even had some hidden black ice. It was heard that there were areas in Loganville, Georgia where the side roads were not so easy to navigate.

The Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia Department of Transportation did not expect the major highways like I-75, I-85 and I-285 to get too bad; yet, they were ready well before this snow event with dump trucks full of sand and ice melt chemicals.

Some Sunday events were cancelled early, especially some church services. The temperatures were expected to be in the high 20s to low 30s for the next couple of days and the lows were going to be somewhere in the mid-teens. There might even be a wintry mix sometime on Thursday, December 30, 2010 according to some forecasts.

It has not been discovered yet, but like the recent lunar eclipse, no one knows when Atlanta will have a White Christmas again. Some will probably say, hopefully not for another 130 years, some might say, maybe again next Christmas.