Winter Storm — Northern Ware, Georgia

2025-01-21 to 2025-01-22 · Northern Ware, Georgia

Event narrative

At 4 am on 1/22, broadcast media reported a building collapse due to snow accumulation along Knight Avenue in Waycross. There were deep cracks beginning at the top of the building that extended down a few feet. The exterior of the building appeared to be crushed by snow accumulation as the middle roof was collapsed down to ground level and the majority of the structure doors were caved inward. At 7:13 am, the public shared a photo that indicated 4.5 inches of measured snow about 2 miles NNW of Deenwood, just outside of the Waycross city limits. At 9:30 am, the public shared a photo of measured storm total rainfall of 2.5 inches in Waycross.

Wider weather episode

A rare winter storm impacted the southeast region as a surface low tracked eastward across the Gulf Coast region with cold air across the region. Snowfall of 3-5 inches impacted parts of SE GA roughly form Homerville to Jesup while a winter mix of sleet and freezing rain impacted locations south of Waycross and east toward the Golden Isles and Nassau County Florida. Ice accumulations caused major damage to trees, power lines and other utilities across the Golden Isles of SE GA and major traffic accidents along and near the Interstate 95 corridor from Glynn County GA to Nassau County FL. Sleet, patches of ice and some snow impacted the Sindey Lanier Bridge in Glynn County. The bridge was closed 1/22 and 1/23 due to falling ice from the high spans.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1226972. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.