Heavy Snow — Coastal Liberty, Georgia

2018-01-03 · Coastal Liberty, Georgia

Event narrative

Storm total snowfall amounts ranged from a trace up to 2 inches across coastal portions of Liberty County. A social media user reported up to 2 inches near Sunbury.

Wider weather episode

A developing surface low pressure system offshore and an amplifying upper level trough approaching from the west combined with unusually cold air to produce widespread significant winter precipitation across southeast Georgia. Most of the precipitation fell as snow, with amounts ranging from a few tenths of an inch up to 6 inches. The event began as rain for many areas before changing over to snow, with a period of freezing rain along the coast where up to a quarter of an inch of ice accumulation occurred. The official storm total snowfall for the day at the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport was 1.2 inches which ranks as the 7th highest one day snowfall on record, dating back to 1871. The event caused significant disruption to travel, with many businesses and schools closed the day of the event as well as the following day. Black ice was also an issue following the event, as well as several days of frigid wind chills.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 735186. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.