Weather leaves Atlantans fed up

By Nedra Rhone

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It is March and it's not supposed to be this way. At least not in Atlanta.

"Sometimes I feel like I live in Seattle and other times I feel like I live in Canada. I want Atlanta back," said John Flynn, 33, of Midtown, giving voice during Tuesday's snowstorm to a collective seasonal affective disorder.

"I have never in my life been so over the weather as I am right now."

Life gets mean as winter drags on. Heating demand has been 36 percent higher than last year, said David Stooksbury, state climatologist at the University of Georgia. Air and road travel grinds to a halt. And you can't even count on getting tomatoes on your burger at Wendy's (at least not at downtown's CNN Center).

Just try convincing Atlantans this hasn't been the longest, coldest, most harsh winter on record. Snow, wet and cold are common occurrences in a transition month like March, but this year has felt like a non-stop assault.

"We just never got a break. It has been relentless," said WSB-TV meteorologist David Chandley.  "We are only a few days into March, but it does look like with the pattern we have, we are going to see below average temperatures."

He explains: "There are a couple of factors. A very active El Niño which brought us the moisture and storms on the southern branch of the jet stream and we had an active outbreak of Arctic air...you factor in those two things...and here we are in March and it's not uncommon we would get these types of snow events."

Not uncommon, perhaps, but certainly unpleasant.

For Atlantans like Jena Jolissaint, 34, it's meant hauling out dreaded winter weather gear long after its welcome is worn.

"I didn't even own a scarf when I moved to Atlanta," said Jolissaint, a professor of philosophy at Oglethorpe University, who has had a learning experience. She said she used to get trapped in her house at the bottom of two icy hills each time it snowed. "I finally figured out if I put on snow boots, I could hike up the hill and my friend could pick me up in her truck."

While it's true it has been cold, this has not been anywhere near the coldest winter in Atlanta -- no matter how you measure it.

Preliminary data from measuring from Dec. 1 till the end of February, since 1928, show:

* this was the sixth-coldest based on the average high temperature

* it was the 11th coldest based on the average low temperature

* it was the seventh coldest based on the average temperature

Stooksbury also said Tuesday's snowstorm marked the fourth measurable snow event this season. That might seem like a lot of storms coming late in the season, but neither is really true.

Atlanta, you may have forgotten, got 4.2 inches of snow just a year ago -- on March 1, 2009. And the largest snowfall in recent history goes back to March 24, 1983, when an unbelievable 7.9 inches covered the city.

This weekend should bring a respite, with temperatures moving into the mid-60s by Sunday, according to Brian Lynn, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Atlanta. The bad news is, it's temporary.

"We are in March and still running lower than normal. Spring tends to get an early start around here, so yes, we are behind," he said. "But spring always comes, it's just a matter of when it happens."