Groundhogs predict more winter as metro Atlanta begins to thaw

The Peach State is finally thawing out Monday after snow ushered in a long stretch of freezing temperatures.

Monday afternoon highs are on their way into the mid- to upper 40s across North Georgia, and the forecast points to warmer conditions at least through next week.

But Georgia’s groundhog, Gen. Beauregard Lee, said to temper your expectations for springlike weather. He saw his shadow Monday morning in Jackson, predicting six more weeks of winter. His more famous counterpart, Punxsutawney Phil, also predicted more winter ahead from rural Pennsylvania, The Associated Press reported.

It will feel that way early Monday. Before the afternoon warmup, forecasters warn of patchy black ice on the roads in areas that saw snow over the weekend. That’s because anything that started melting Sunday refroze overnight as temps crashed back into the teens and 20s, the National Weather Service cautions.

Windy conditions make the 20-degree morning temps feel more like the teens, the Weather Service said.

But, “thankfully, this will be the coldest morning of the week,” NWS forecasters said. “By this afternoon, everyone can shed their winter jacket.”

Although Atlanta’s high crept just above freezing Sunday, Monday will be the first time temps get above freezing since Friday night for some locations, especially in far northeast Georgia. The extended freeze raises concerns about burst pipes as water begins to flow again.

“That puts a lot of pressure on the pipes,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.

If you’re worried your pipes could burst, learn where your water shut-off valve is so you can turn it off and prevent flooding.

By Tuesday, the region should be back to more seasonable temps as highs climb into the mid- to upper 50s. In fact, some locations could reach near 60 degrees Tuesday afternoon.

February’s average high in Atlanta is 58 degrees, according to Weather Service data.

Rain returns to the forecast on Tuesday, too. Only widespread showers, no thunderstorms, are expected by the late afternoon or evening, forecasters say.

Another round of showers is projected Wednesday ahead of another cold front. But the incoming chill shouldn’t be anything like what we saw over the weekend, when much of northeast Georgia saw significant snow, even more than 7 inches just north of Athens, the NWS reports.

The extended freeze led to icy conditions on roads that caused crashes across the region. In Gwinnett County, icy roads led to a multivehicle pileup that caused an extended jam on I-985 Saturday afternoon.