1 to 2 inches of snow forecast for Columbus area, 2 inches in Auburn
The Columbus-Phenix City area is now forecast to get 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation from a frigid winter storm moving through Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, Ga.
The Columbus metro area is under a winter storm advisory that begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday and runs through 10 a.m. Wednesday.
“A winter weather advisory for snow means periods of snow will cause primarily travel difficulties,” the weather service said. “Be prepared for snow-covered roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving.”
Northwest of Columbus, in the Lee County cities of Auburn and Opelika, the weather service office in Birmingham, Ala., is projecting snow accumulation of around 2 inches.
Those in LaGrange, Ga., less than an hour north of Columbus, are forecast to receive between 1 to 3 inches of snow Tuesday into Wednesday.
Specifically, a mix of rain and snow is likely in the Chattahoochee Valley tonight (Tuesday) before 10 p.m., then turning to frozen crystals known as snow overnight. Between 1 and 2 inches of snow is possible in Columbus before the precipitation ends by daybreak Wednesday, the weather service said. There is an 80 percent chance of precipitation locally, the agency said, along with northwest winds between 5 and 10 mph, gusting up to 20 mph at times.
There has been no mention of ice in the west-central Georgia and east-central Alabama areas by the National Weather Service. That’s with temperatures quickly plunging from the mid-50s on Tuesday afternoon to 20 degrees Wednesday morning. Skies will turn sunny later on Wednesday, with a high of 34 forecast locally, followed by a low of 21 degrees on Wednesday night.
In Auburn and Opelika, the snow is projected to be about 2 inches, with northwest winds of about 15 mph and a low of 16 degrees by Wednesday morning.
The rare wintry weather comes courtesy of Winter Storm Inga, which is funneling arctic air deep into the Southeast, in areas that can go years without seeing snow. The cold blast will be fairly short lived, however, with the highs in Columbus reaching 47 degrees on Thursday, the weather service forecast says, then steadily moving higher to 53 degrees on Friday, 61 on Saturday and the mid- to upper 60s on Sunday, sunny skies.
Preparations for the winter storm began earlier Tuesday, with schools announcing closings and Georgia Department of Transportation crews treating bridges and overpasses with rock and salt in advance of the granular precipitation.
“We expect to experience the leading edge of the wintry mix/snow in our far northwestern counties as the system then moves southeasterly through our district. Our forces were brought in at 7 a.m. this morning to start pre-treating bridges and overpasses ahead of it on a 12-hour shift schedule,” said Wes Kennedy, maintenance engineer with the DOT’s West Central Georgia District.
This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 4:39 PM with the headline "1 to 2 inches of snow forecast for Columbus area, 2 inches in Auburn."