Winter Storm — Coastal Glynn, Georgia

2018-01-03 · Coastal Glynn, Georgia

Event narrative

At 4:58 am, a trained spotter reported freezing rain on a vehicle along Interstate 95 in Brunswick, about 3 miles NNE of Dock Junction. At 6:15 am, law enforcement reported freezing rain in Brunswick, with ice on bridges. At 7:42 am, law enforcement reported freezing rain about 5 miles NNW of Dock Junction with multiple vehicle crashes due to ice accumulation. Bridge closures were ongoing at the time of this report. At 11 am, a HAM radio operator reported heavy ice accumulation from freezing rain on Saint Simons Island that accumulated on trees and power lines, which caused widespread power outages. At 12:40 pm, the media reported freezing rain accumulation of 0.12 inches on trees along with power outages and tree limbs down on St. Simons Island. At 1:17 pm, the emergency manager reported freezing rainfall accumulation of 0.50 inches in Brunswick with many downed trees and power outages. The county reported over 15 car accidents related to the winter weather and icy roads, but no fatalities. There were over 23,000 customers without power around 1 pm.

Wider weather episode

An unseasonably deep cold airmass was in place across the southeast region. An area of low pressure deepened near the Bahamas during the day as a vigorous upper level trough swept over the region from the west. The upper level lift, cold airmass, and strong low level winds created an area of freezing precipitation across the forecast area, with freezing rain up to 0.50 thick across NE FL and SE GA generally south of Waycross, with a historic snowfall from Homerville to Waycross to Jesup northward with amounts of 2-4 inches and up to 6 inches. Widespread power outages occurred due to frozen precipitation and numerous roads were closed.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 726415. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.