‘Dangerous, damaging’ cold blast may be just days away. But, will it snow in Georgia?

The new year is off to a blistering cold start, as winter weather will soon blast freezing air, extreme cold temperatures and snow through the U.S.

In fact, this January could break records.

“This could end up being the coldest January since 2011 for the U.S. as a whole,” said AccuWeather expert Paul Pastelok.

The “bitterly cold pattern” is expected to hit Wednesday, Jan. 8, to Friday, Jan. 10, and could bring “drastically colder air” or even “substantial snow and ice” for the midwest, south and east.

So, will it snow in Georgia? Here’s what we know.

Will the cold temperatures bring snow to Georgia?

AccuWeather meteorologists said a risk of subfreezing temperatures will be in the forecast for the South from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10. For Georgia and surrounding states, the risk is high and could be “dangerous, damaging and disruptive.”

Temperatures at times could even feel like 10 to 20 degrees colder than what they are and, although AccuWeather meteorologists haven’t said it will snow in Georgia, they are expecting snow and ice to cover several southern states.

However, while the National Weather Service (NWS) is “highly confident in colder conditions,” they are also not expecting much precipitation.

An interactive map from the NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a slight risk for snow and a high risk of much below normal temperatures.

As far as local temperatures and precipitation chances, here’s a look at the forecast:

Atlanta

The Weather Channel has predicted that Atlanta will have lows in the 20s and highs in the 30s from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10. Thursday night is the only night predicted to have some precipitation (18%).

Macon

In Macon, lows will dip into the low 20s from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10 and highs will only reach around 44 degrees. The weather will be mostly sunny each day and precipitation chances remain below 15%.

Columbus

The forecast in Columbus is similar to Macon’s forecast, with temperatures dipping into the low 20s, but mostly remaining at the 30-degree mark. Highs will only reach up to 47 degrees next week and precipitation chances are low.

Do you have any questions about the forecast for next week? Let me know in the comments or email me at cmadden@mcclatchy.com.

Chelsea Madden

The Telegraph

Chelsea is a service journalism reporter who began working for McClatchy in 2022. She was born and raised in Middle Georgia and lives in Forsyth. She attended Wesleyan College for undergrad and a few years after that, went to SCAD for an MFA in writing. Outside of work, Chelsea likes to watch Netflix, read books in the thriller genre and chase her toddler around.