National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Heavy Great Lakes Snow through Friday; Extreme Cold and Potential for Major Winter Storm Late Week into this Weekend

Multiple clipper systems will bring cold temperatures and enhance lake-effect snow downwind of the Great Lakes. An arctic blast will bring frigid temperatures accompanied with gusty winds that may lead to dangerous wind chills beginning in the Northern Plains Thursday before expanding to the South and East. An expansive winter storm will start Friday in the Southern Rockies/Plains and Mid-South. Read More >

The Atlanta Center Weather Service Unit (ZTL CWSU) is located at the Federal Aviation  Administration (FAA) Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) in Hampton, Georgia. The CWSU is staffed by four National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists. Our hours of operation are from 5:30 AM to 9:15 PM daily.                                                                  

Atlanta Center is one of 21 ARTCCs in the United States and covers portions of 6 states (Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee), covering over 103,000 square miles of airspace. Within the Atlanta Center area, there are 15 radar approach control facilities, and 13 internal airports. Among these, the Atlanta Hartsfield airport (ATL) is consistently one of the world's busiest, and weather conditions affecting ATL arrivals and departures can have a major impact on the entire National Airspace System (NAS). This center handles nearly 3 million aircraft operations per year, or more than 8000 per day.         

Our main responsibility is to provide up to the minute weather information and briefings to the ZTL Traffic Management Unit (TMU) and operations supervisors. Special emphasis is given to weather conditions that would be hazardous to aviation or would impede the flow of air traffic  in the NAS. CWSU meteorologists also issue two unscheduled products. The Center  Weather Advisory (CWA) is an aviation weather warning for thunderstorms, icing, turbulence, and low IFR ceilings and visibilities. The Meteorological Impact Statement (MIS) is a 2-12  hour forecast for weather conditions which are expected to impact ARTCC operations.

Contact Info: Phone Number Operations 770.210.7693 Admin ext. 7871.