what are ATL winters like? (Atlanta, Avera: tornadoes, live in, cabin)

[spacelord75]

I actually really like winter here - it is a nice mix of actual cold stretches with other times of brilliant blue, 60 degree days. You may go through a stretch of 15-25 degree lows for a week, then the next week you are out running in short sleaves in the sun. I think the problem with just using weather.com for your info (as others suggested) is that these are just averages and don't give the real picture. The worst month is probably January or February, but even then you will be surprised by a week or so of great weather. Our winters are no where near as wet as they are in Seattle, but they can still be pretty damp at times. Snow is pretty rare, although last year we had two days (I think) where it accumulated, but only 1" or so.

I actually was considering a move to Oregon and the thing that made me decide not to was the winter. Unlike the Pac-NW where it is grey and rainy ad nauseum, you have pockets of nice weather here. Also, even when it is cold, you can still be outside because it is not raining as much. Whatever winter clothes you have should be fine for here.

[Galounger]

Originally Posted by RainyRainyDay

I've spent most of my adult life in Vancouver, BC but I've been in Atlanta for six years now. You're not going to find it particularly cold!

In the middle of winter it does get cold at nights (down in the 20s and even - infrequently - the teens) but it warms up during the day. Gloves are rarely needed. The cold season is short - just a few weeks, really.

The first year we were here, I was driving to work one winter morning. Before leaving the house I'd told our third grader, who was still breakfasting with her dad, to be sure to wear her warm jacket, hat and mittens to the bus stop, because it seemed pretty cold. On the car radio, there was an announcement that all schools were closed due to the icy weather! I was incredulous. It was cold, but not that cold. I fumbled to get out my cell phone, anxious to phone home before daughter went off to catch the school bus (which wouldn't be coming) and husband left for work. I caught them in time and we changed plans to handle the "snow day". It would never have occurred to me that it was cold enough to close the schools. It happens in part because, as you will observe, many kids don't own what you or I would consider to be a winter jacket or coat, so the authorities don't want them out in freezing weather, underdressed.

Rest assured, right now you own way more winter clothes than you'll need here!

No. It's not because of a lack of winter clothing. Most kids here have more than enough winter clothing to deal with anything our winters dish out.

It's because any kind of icy or snowy weather here makes the roads very dangerous. This is due to 1. there is very little or no deicing equipment or snow plows and 2. as a previous poster stated Atlantans and most other southerners are very poor drivers in this kind of weather as they are very unaccustomed to it.

So, often schools will close under these conditions because they consider it unsafe for parents and buses to be traveling the roads at these times.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by SiriousGA

You can always tell the people who move here from the north in their first year. Wearing shorts and a sweatshirt. The next year, they will be wearing long pants, sweatshirt and a coat.

Not me. I still wear my tee shirts and shorts all year around down here.

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by Galounger

No. It's not because of a lack of winter clothing. Most kids here have more than enough winter clothing to deal with anything our winters dish out.

That's just what the people at my daughter's elementary school said. On this particular occasion I don't think there was much concern about ice on the roads. The weather had been dry in the preceding days. It was just "too cold for the kids to be out". That's what the locals told me, anyway.

[AutumnRose]

The perspective of a former Chicago native on Atlanta winter - it's colder than you think it'd be! Sure you can look on weather.com and see the averages but there were some downright cold mornings and a handful of days I'd consider cold. The other times I'd classify as 'chilly'. I was thankful I held onto my winter coat though. However, like others have said here and there will be stretches of relatively warmer nice weather to break up any cold spells. Honestly it was the perfect winter for me, cold enough to snuggle but no insane amounts of snow to shovel.

[~Meg~]

whoa, i wasn't expecting a debate. i didn't realize our winters would be such a hot topic.

it sounds like a Phoenix winter to me. cold enough for a coat in the morning and then you wish you had worn shorts but lunch time. i think we'll do just fine. thanks for all the input.

[matt8325]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Not me. I still wear my tee shirts and shorts all year around down here.

You wear shorts when its 15 degrees outside ?

[matt8325]

Originally Posted by ~Meg~

whoa, i wasn't expecting a debate. i didn't realize our winters would be such a hot topic.

it sounds like a Phoenix winter to me. cold enough for a coat in the morning and then you wish you had worn shorts but lunch time. i think we'll do just fine. thanks for all the input.

Winters in Atlanta are much cooler than Phoenix. I doubt it ever gets below 20 in Phoenix. Most of the time in the winter you wont be wearing shorts at lunch time, unless you wear shorts when it's 50 degrees.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by matt8325

60s are not the norm in the winter. Average high in January is near 50 in Atlanta. So a high of 45 is more likely than a high of 60. It's just as likely to be in the 30's on a january afternoon as it is to be in the 60s.

Agreed. The average high in the actual city of Atlanta is about 50, but in the northern suburbs, the average high is in the mid to upper 40s during the month of January and much of February.

[Scraper Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by neil0311

From weather.com:

Average Weather for Atlanta, GA - Temperature and Precipitation

Dec Avg High = 55
Jan Avg High = 52
Feb Avg High = 57
March Avg High = 65

Last I checked, winter begins on Dec 21 and ends on March 21. Winter is more than just January. I'm not saying winter in Atlanta is like Miami, but you are refusing reality if you don't admit that it's mild here. It is NOT cold by any stretch. To say it just as likely to be in the 30's as the 60's is just incorrect and you are trying to prove a point that can't be proven.

If you're talking the liklihood of the temperature reaching the 30s or 60s within the season of winter, you're more likely to see the 30s, simply due to the fact of low temperatures. However, high temperatures in the 60s within the months of January and February aren't all that common. On the other hand, neither are high temperatures in the 30s all that common. What's most common are high temperatures from roughly 45-55 degrees.