It is too soon to know if more sleet, snow, and freezing rain is on the way, but models are starting to come into consensus that there may be another Gulf Low that develops during the timeframe of Tuesday through Thursday, January 22-24.
However, there is high confidence that an Arctic Cold Air Outbreak will return to Metro Atlanta the week of January 20-25, potentially bringing the coldest air of the Winter 2024-2025 season.
In meteorology, the term Cold Air Outbreak (CAO) describes a very large and very long duration of abnormally cold temperatures across the United States. A Cold Air Outbreak can effect the Great Lakes, Great Plains, the Southeast, and the Northeast all at the same time for as long as a week.
CAOs are associated with a large dip in the jet stream, which allows the Arctic air to spill south from the North Pole to the Southeast. The animation below illustrates the Futurecast 300 millibar winds, and the ribbon of bright colors signals the jet stream.
The animation below illustrates the Futurecast 850 millibar Temperature, which clearly shows the Arctic Air spilling south. Temperatures will trend about 20 degrees below average, landing into the upper 10s for the morning hours and into the low 30s for the afternoons Monday through Wednesday.
In fact, there is a very good possibility that much of Metro Atlanta will experience actual air temperatures at or below freezing for 48+ consecutive hours between Sunday night and Wednesday morning.
The animation below illustrates the Futurecast surface temperatures for the state of Georgia from Sunday afternoon through Thursday afternoon.
What to do now to prepare for the Arctic Air
I spoke with 95.5 WSB Radio Home-Fix-It Show host Dave Baker and asked him some tips to keep the cold air out and keep the warm air in our homes.
Dave shared with me that some home builders fail to caulk the very tops of a home’s windows, and that is one of the areas to check to make sure no air is leaking through.
Temperatures will be in the mid 50s today through Saturday, so now would be a good time to check the window seals and to provide a little bit of home maintenance before the coldest air arrives next week!
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