Cold weather blasts Georgia

The coldest temperatures of the season settled-in across the state in the early morning hours. Readings in the teens and 20's were being felt this morning in the state. A freeze warning was in effect for the entire state until 9am. The forecast today calls for sunny and warmer—-highs mainly in the 50’s, except for 40’s in the mountains.

Freeze forecast for most of Georgia

Bundle up: the outlook for this midtown Atlanta skyline, as for much of the state is for clear - and very cold - temperatures overnight. (Dave Bender)

Freezing temperatures are expected over most of Georgia as a blast of cold air from Canada makes its way into the state.

The National Weather Service says temperatures Tuesday night and early Wednesday are expected to range from the upper teens in far north Georgia to the upper 20s and mid 30s near the coast.

Freezing temperatures also were forecast for tonight in much of north and central Georgia. The NWS forecasts a hard freeze for the southwest part of the state:

"A HARD FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM
MIDNIGHT  TONIGHT TO 9 AM EST WEDNESDAY. A FREEZE
WATCH REMAINS  IN EFFECT FROM LATE WEDNESDAY
NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY  MORNING.

STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD INTO
THE  AREA TONIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL RAPIDLY
AFTER  SUNSET. TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO REACH
THE FREEZING  MARK AFTER MIDNIGHT...WITH
DURATIONS  OF 5 TO 7 HOURS OF  SUB-FREEZING
TEMPERATURES EXPECTED.  ADDITIONALLY... A HARD
FREEZE IS FORECAST FOR SEVERAL  HOURS TOWARDS
DAYBREAK WITH TEMPERATURES BOTTOMING
OUT BETWEEN  25 AND 27 DEGREES.

ANOTHER FREEZE EVENT IS FORECAST WEDNESDAY NIGHT
WITH TEMPERATURES BOTTOMING OUT BETWEEN
28 AND 32 DEGREES... COLDEST ACROSS THE SUWANNEE
VALLEY IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA." 

The NWS predicts a gradual warming trend through the week. By Saturday, the forecast calls for lows in the 20s and 30s in north Georgia to the 40s in the south, followed by daytime highs from the upper 40s to about 70 in parts of south Georgia.

Maps and details of the areas expected to be affected are here: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/

Click here for more GPB News coverage of statewide weather events.

(AP)

Early spring freeze warning across most of Georgia

Spring has arrived on the calendar, but it’s a blast of cold air that has settled over Georgia overnight and this morning. A freeze warning is in place for much of the state until 9am. Temperature readings across the state in the 7am hour included 29 degrees in Demorest, 27 in Dalton, 30 in Americus, and 30 degrees in Albany.

The state’s farmers and growers are watching their crops. Last spring, peach growers were hard hit by a late freeze that wiped-out most of Georgia’s peach crop. Losses last spring tallied more than 28-million dollars.