Georgia's Winter Storm - December 14 - 15, 2005

A Georgia Ice Storm
December 14 - 15, 2005
by Terry Murphy & Gary Beeley

On December 14 and 15, 2005 a winter storm produced a heavy load of ice to trees and power lines across much of Northeast Georgia. Power was knocked out in a number of counties as tree limbs and powers lines fell. Some roads were blocked by debris and others became icy - especially the bridges. Hardest hit areas were White, Banks, Hall, and Gwinnett counties where up to 1/2 inch of ice accumulated. Surrounding counties picked up around 1/4 inch. (See below for a listing of reports from affected counties.)

The event was caused by a low pressure system moving out of the Gulf of Mexico. This system pushed an area of rain into Georgia late on the 14th. The rain fell into a shallow layer of cold air. When temperatures in Northeast Georgia fell below freezing overnight, the rain began freezing on contact with all objects above the ground, and, in some cases, with the ground itself. Rain fell for several hours which caused ice to become thick and heavy. Freezing rain ended on the 15th during the day, but not before depositing as much as a half inch of ice in some areas, including Hall, White and Banks Counties, as well as some nearby counties bordering South Carolina.

Reports from individual counties...

Banks: 1/4-1/2" ice, roads icy, widespread power outages
Barrow: 1/4" or less, numerous power outages and trees down
Clarke: less than 1/4", ice on bridges, few trees and powerlines down, not significant
Cherokee: 1/4-1/2" ice, numerous power outages and trees down, about 4500 without power
Dawson: 1/4" ice, numerous trees and powerlines down
Dekalb: less tha 1/4 ", several power outages
Forsyth: 1/4" ice, numerous power outages and trees down
Fulton: less than 1/4 inch, lots of trees and power outages northeast side
Gilmer: 1/4" ice, numerous trees and powerlines down
Gwinnett: 1/4-1/2" ice, numerous power outages and trees down, 60000-70000 customers without power at one time.
Hall: 1/2 ", bridges icy, ~400 trees down, 100 on GA 400, 8-10 roads closed, widespread power outages
Henry: 1/8 "
Jackson: 1/4", numerous power outages and trees down, ice on bridges
Lumpkin: 1/4" ice, numerous trees and powerlines down.
Madison: 1/4" ice, several trees and power lines down
Newton: 1/4"
Oconee: less than 1/4 ice.
Pickens: less than 1/4 inch ice, several trees and powerlines down.
Rockdale: 1/4" ice. few trees down
Towns: none to trace, no power outages or trees down, no road problems
Walton: less than 1/4 ", icy bridges, no trees down
White: 1/2" ice, ice on bridges and patchy on roads, numerous trees down

Surface Map Showing Location of Gulf Low on the Morning of the 15th

Examples of Icing in Gwinnett County, Georgia ( click images to enlarge )

Photos courtesy of K.C. Curry. Images taken near Dacula at 415 pm on the 15th.